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AN ABRIDGEMENT 



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FROM THE 



INVASION OF JULIUS CiESAR, 



TO THE 



DEATH OF GEORGE THE SECOND 



BY DR. GOLDSMITH. 



CONTINUED TO THE PRESENT TIMEJ? 



BY SEVERAL LITERARY GENTLEMEN. 



Stereotyped by Hammnnd Wallis fy Co. JfeW'YorJc 



BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED BY T. BEDLINGTON 
JVb. 31, Washington-street 

"1825.* 



\zz.s 



Bequest 

Albert Adsit Olemonfl 

Aug. 24, 1038 

(NQt available tor mxGh&,ng&) 



THE LIBiLARY 
OF C0NGft£»8 

J WASHINGTON 
Uses 



THE 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



CHAPTER I. 

OF BRITAIN, FROM THE INVASION OF JULIUS CESAR, TO THE AB- 
DICATION OF THE ROMANS. 

1 . Britain was but very little known to the rest of the world 
before the time of the Romans. The coasts opposite Gaul were 
frequented by merchants, who traded thither for such commo- 
dities as the natives were able to produce. These, it is thought, 
after a time, possessed themselves of all the maritime placei?^ 
where they had at first been permitted to reside. There, find- 
ing the country fertile, and commodiously situated for trade, 
they settled upon the sea side, and introduced the practice of 
agriculture. But it was very diflerent with the inland inhabi- 
tants of the country, who con;?idered themselves as the lawful 
possessors of the soil. These avoided all correspondence with 
the new comers, whom they considered as intruders upon their 
property. 

2. The inland inhabitants are sepressnted as extremely nu- 
merous, living in cottages thatched with straw, and feeding large 
herds of cattle. They lived mostly upon milk, or llesh procured 
by the chase. What clothes they wore to cover any part of 
their bodies, were usually the skins of beasts ; but much of 
their bodies, as the arms, legs, and thighs, were left naked, and 
those parts were usually painted blue. Their hair, which was 
long, flowed down upon their backs and shoulders, while their 
beards were kept close shaven, except upon the uppei lip, 
where it was suffered to grow. The dress of savage nations is 
every where pretty much the same, being calculated rather to 
inspire terror than to excite love or respect. 

3. As to their government, it consisted of several small prin- 
cipalities, each under its respective leader ; and this seems t© 
be the earliest mode of dominion with which mankind are ac- 
quainted, and deduced from the natural privileges of parental 
authority. Upon great, or uncommon dangers, a commander in 
chief was chosen by coa^on consent in a general assembly j- 



HISTORY OF jfeNGLAND. Chap, i 

and to tiim was committed the conduct of the general interest, 
the power of making peace, or of leading to M-^ar. 

4. Their forces consisted chiefly of foot, and yet they could 
bring a considerable number of horse into the tield upon great 
occasions. They likewise used ciiariots in battle, which, with 
short scythes fastened to the end* of the axle trees, inflicted 
terrible wounds, spreading terroj^J and devastation wherever 
they drove. Nor, while the chafiots were thus destroying, 
were the warriors who conducted| them unemployed. These 
darted their javelins against the enemy, ran along the beam, 
leapt on the ground, resumed their seat, stopped, or turned 
their horses at full speed, and sometimes cunningly retreated, 
to draw the enemy into confusion. 

5. The religion of the Britons was one of the most consider- 
able parts of their government ; and the Druids, who were the 
guardians of it, possessed great authority among them. No 
species of superstition was ever more terrible than theirs ; be- 
sides the severe penalties, which they were permitted to inflict 
m this world, they inculcated the eternal transmigration of souls, 
and thus extended their authority as far as the fears of their 
votaries. 

6. They sacrificed human victims, which they burned in 
large wicker idols, made so capacious as to contain a multitude 
of persons at once, who were thus consumed together. To 
these rites, tending to impress ignorance with awe, they added 
the austerity of their manners, and the simplicity of their lives. 
They lived in woods, caves, and hollow trees ; their food was 
acorns and berries, and their drink water ; by these arts they 
were not only respected, but almost adored by the people. 

7. It may easily be supposed, that Uie manners of the people 
took a tmcture from the discipline of their teachers. Their 
lives were simple, but they were marked with cruelty and 
fierceness ; their courage was great, but neither dignified by 
mercy nor perseverance. 

8. The Britons had long remained in this rude but independ- 
ent state, when Caesar having overrun Gaul with his victories, 
and willing still further to extend his fame, determined upon the 
conquest of a country that seemed to promise an easy triumph. 
When the troops destined for the expedition were embarked, 
he set sail for Britain about midnight, and the next morning ar- 
rived on the coast near Dover, where he saw the rocks and cliffs 
covered with armed men to oppose his landing. 

9. The Britons had chosen Cassibelaunus for their com- 
mander in chief, but the petty princes under his command, 
either desiring his station, or suspecting his fidehty, threw off 
t)\e;- •Ule^iaace. Some of them fled with their forces into the 



onap. 1. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 5 

internal parts of the kingdom, others submitted to Caesar, till at 
length Cassibelaunus himself, weakened by so many desertions, 
resolved upon making what terms he was able, while he had the 
power to keep the field. The conditions offered b}^ Caesar, and 
accepted by him, were, that he should send to the continent 
double the number of hostages at first demanded, and that he 
should acknowledge subjection to the Romans. Caisar, how- 
ever, was obliged to return once more to compel the Britons to 
complete their stipulated trGat}^ 

10. Upon ttie accession of Augustus, that emperor had form- 
ed the design of visiting Britain, but was diverted from it b}'- an 
unexpecterl revolt of the Fannonians. 

1 1 . Tiberius wisely judging the empire already too extensive, 
made no attempt on Britain. From, that time the natives began 
to improve in all the arls which contribute to the advancement 
of human nature. 

12. The wild extravagances of Caligula, by which he threat- 
ened Britain with an invasion, served rather to expose him to 
ridicule, than the island to danger. At length the Romans, in 
the reign of Claudius, began to think seriously of reducing them 
under their dominion. The expedition for ihis purpose was 
conducted in the beginning by Piautius and other commanders 
with that success which usually attended the Roman arms. 

13. Caractacus was the first who seemed willing, by a vigor- 
ous effort, to rescue his country and repel its insulting and" ra- 
pacious conquerors. This rude soldier, though with inferior 
forces, continued for above nine years to oppose and harass the 
Romans ; till at length he was totally routed,' and taken prisoner 
by Ostorius Scapula, who sent him in triumph to Rome. 

14. While Caractacus was leading through Rome, he appear- 
ed no way dejected at the amazing concourse of spectators, that 
were gathered upon this occasion, but casting his eyes on the 
splendours that surrounded him, " Alas," cried he, " how is it 
possible that a people possessed of such magnificence at home, 
could envy me an humble cottage in Britain ?" The emperor 
was affected with the British hero's misfortunes, and won by his 
address. He ordered him to be unchained upon the spot, and 
set at liberty, with the rest of the captives. 

15. The ciruel treatment of Boadicea, queen of the Icfni, 
drove the Britons once more into open rebellion. Prasatai^us, 
king of the Iceni, at his death had bequeathed one half of hi? 
dominions to the Romans, and the other to his daughters, thus 
hoping by the sacrifice of a part to secure the rest in his family : 
bat it had a different effect, for the Roman procurator immedi- 
ately took possession of the whole ; and when Boadicea, the 
widow of the deceased,, attempted to remonstrate,, he ordered 



6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap, t 

her to be scourged like a slave, and violated the chastity of her 
daughters. 

16. These outrages were sufficient to produce a revolt 
throughout the island ; the Iceni, as being the most deeply in- 
terested in the quarrel, were the tirst to take arms ; all the other 
States soon followed the example ; and Boadicea, a woman of 
great beauty and masculine spirit, was appointed to head the 
cojimon forces, which amounted to two hundred and thirty 
thousand lighting men. These, exasperated by their wrongs, 
attacked several of the Roman settlements and colonies with 
success. 

17. Paulinus, who commanded the Roman forces, hastened to 
relieve London, which was already a flourishing colony ; but 
found, on his arrival, that it would be requisite for the general 
safety, to abandon that place to the merciless fury of the enemj. 
London was soon therefore reduced to ashes ; such of the in- 
habitants as remained in it were massacred, and the Romans, 
with all other strangers, to the number of seventy thousand, 
were cruelly put to the sword. 

18. Flushed with these successes, the Britons no longer 
sought to avoid the enemy, but boldi;y came to the place where 
'^aulinus awaited their arrival, posted in a very advantageous 
manner, with a body of ten thousand men. The battle was ob- 
stinate and bloody. Boadicea herself appeared in a chariot 
with her two daughters, and harangued her army with masculine 
intrepidity ; but the irregular and undisciplined bravery of her 
troops was unable to resist the cool intrepidity of the Romans. 
They were routed" with great slaughter, eighty thousand perish- 
ed In the field, and an infinite number were made prisoners, 
while Boadicea herself, fearing to fdl into the hands of an en- 
raged victor, put an end to her life by poison. 

19. The general who tinally estpblished the dominion of the 
R-Omans in this island was Julius Agricola, who governed it dur- 
ing the reign of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, and distin- 
guished himself as well by his courage as humanity. 

20. For several years after the time of Agricola, a profound 
peace seems to have prevailed in Britain, and little mention is 
made of the affairs of the island by an}^ historian. 

21. Rome, however, that had for ages given laws to nations, 
and diffused slavery and oppression over the known world, began 
at length to sink under her own magnificence. Mankind, as if 
by a general consent, rose up to vindicate their natural freedoni ; 
almost every nation asserting that independence which they had 
been long so unjustly deprived of. 

22. During these struggles the British youth were frequently 
drawn away into Gaul, to ^ivc ineffcctal succour to the various 



Chap. 2. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 7 

contenders for the empire, who failing in every attempt, only 
left the name of tyrants behind them. In the mean time, as the 
Roman forces decreased in Britain, the Picts and Scot3 continu- 
ed still more boldly to infest the nothern parts ; and crossing the 
friths, which the Romans could not guard, in little wicker boats 
covered with leather, filled the country, wherever they came, 
with slaughter and consternation. 

23. The Romans, therefore, finding it impossible to stand their 
ground in Britain, in the reign of the emperor Valentinian took 
their last leave of this island, after being masters of it for near 
four hundred years, and now left the natives to the choice of 
their own goverment and kings. They gave them the best in* 
structions the calamitous times would permit, for exercising their 
arms and repairing their ramparts, and helped them to erect 
anew a wall of stone built by the emperor Severus across the 
island, which they had not at that time, artizans skilful enough 
among themselves to repair. 



CHAPTER II.— The Saxons. 

1 . The Britons being now left to themselves, considered their 
new liberties as their greatest calamity. 

2. The Picts and Scots uniting together, began to look upon 
Britain as their own, and attacked the northern wall, which the 
Romans had built to keep off their incursions, with success. 
Having thus opened to themselves a passage, they ravaged the 
whole country with impunity, while the Britons sought precari- 
ous shelter in their woods and mountains. 

3. It was in this deplorable and enfeebled state that the Bri- 
tons had recourse to the Saxons, a brave people ; who for their 
strength and valour were formidable to all the German nations 
around them, and supposed to be more than a match for the gods 
themselves. They were a people restless and bold, who con- 
sidered war as their trade ; in consequence, taught to consider 
victory as a doubtful advantage, but courage as a certain good. 

4. A nation, however, entirely addicted to war, has seldom 
wanted the imputation of cruelty, as those terrors which are op. 
posed without fear, are often inflicted without regret. The Sax- 
ons are represented as a very cruel nation ; but we must remem- 
ber, that their enemies have drawn the picture. 

5. It was no disagreeable circumstance to these ambitious 
people, to be invited into a country upon which they had, for 
ages before, been forming designs. In consequence therefore of 
Vortigern's solemn invitation, who was then king of Britain, they 
arrived with fifteen hundred men. under the command of lieu- 



8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 2 

gjst and Horsa, who were brothers, and landed on the Isle of 
Thanet. There they did not long remain inactive ; but being 
joined by the British forces, they boldly marched against the 
Picts and Scots, who had advanced as far as Lincolnshire, and 
soon gained a complete victory over them. 

6. The Saxons however, being sensible of the fertility of the 
country to which they came, and the barrenness of that which 
they had left behind, invited over great numbers of their coun- 
trymen to become sharers in their new expedition. Aceording- 
ly they received a fresh supply of five thousand men, who pass- 
ed over in seventeen vessels, and soon made a permanent es- 
tablishment, in the island. 

7. The British historians, in order to account for the easy con- 
quest of their country by the Saxons, assign their treachery, 
not less than their valour, as a principal cause. They allege 
that Vortigern was artfully inveigled into a passion for liowena, 
the daughter of Hengist, and in order to marry her, was indu- 
ced to settle the fertile province of Kent upon her father, from 
whence the Saxonrs could never after be removed. 

8. It is alleged also, that upon the death of Vortimer, which 
happened shortly after the victory he optained at Englesford, 
Vortigern, his father, was reinstated upon the throne. It is ad 
ded, that this weak monarch accepting an invitation to a festival 
from Hengi:.t, tliree hundred of his nobility were treacherously 
slaughtered, and himself detained as a captive. 

9. After the death of Hengist, several other German tribes, al- 
lured by the success of their countrymen, went over in great 
numbers. A body of their countrymen, under the conduct of 
Ella and his three sons, had sometime before laid the foundation 
of the kingdom of the South Saxons, though not without great op- 
position and bloodshed. This new kingdom included Surry, 
Sussex, and the new Forest, and extended to the frontiers of 
Kent. 

10. Another tribe of Saxons under the command of Cerdic, 
and his son Kenric, landed in the West, and from thence took 
the name of West Saxons. These met with a vigorous oppo- 
sition from the natives, but being reinforced from Germany, and 
assisted by their countrymen on the island, they routed the Bri- 
tons ; and although retarded in their progress by the celebrated 
king Arthur, they had strength enough to keep possession of the 
conquests they had already made. Cerdic, therefore, with his 
son Kenric, established the third Saxon kingdom in the island, 
namely, that of the West Saxon, including the counties of 
Hants, Dorset,Wilts, Berks, and the Isle of Wight. 

1 1. It was in opposing this Saxon invader that the celebrated 
prince Arthur acquired his fame. Howsoever so unsuccessful 



f 



Chap. 2. lltSTORY OF ENGLAND, 9 

all his valour might have been in the end, yet his name makes 
so great a figure in the fabulous annals of the ti.ies, that some 
notice must be taken of him. This prince is of such obscure origi- 
nal, that some authors suppose him to be the son of king Am- 
brosius, and others only }iis nephew ; others again affirm that he 
WM a Cornish prince, and son of Gurlois, king of that province, 

12. Hov/ever this be, it is certain he was a commander of 
great valour, and could courage alone have repaired tlie mise- 
rable state of the Britons, his might have been effectual. Ac- 
cording to the most authentic historians, he is said to have worst- 
ed the Saxons, in twelve successive battles. In one of them, 
namely, that fought at Caerbadon, in Berks, it is asserted, that 
he killed no less than four hundred and forty of the enemy with 
his own hand. 

13. But the Saxons were too numerous and powerful to be 
extirpated by the desultory efforts of single valour ; so that a 
peace, arid not conquest, was the immediate fruit of his victories. 
The eriemy, therefore, still gained ground, and this prince in the 
decline of life, had the mortification, from some domestic trou- 
bles of his own, to be a patient spectator of their encroachments. 

14; His first wife had been carried off by Melnas, king of 
Somersetshire, who detained her a v/hoie year at Glastonbury, 
wntil Arthur, discovering the place of her retreat, advanced v/ith 
an army against the ravisher, and obliged him to give her back. 

15. In his second wife, perhaps he might have been more 
fortunate, as we have no mention made of her ; but it was otli- 
erwise with his third consort, who v/as debauched by his own ne- 
phew, Mordred. This produced a rebellion, in which the king 
and his traitorous kinsman, meeting in battle, slew each other. 

16. In the mean time, while the Saxons were thus gaining 
ground in the West, their countrymen were not less active in 
other parts of the island. Adventurers still continued to pour 
over from Germany, one body of them under the command of 
Uffa, seized upon the counties of Cambridge, Suftblk and Nor- 
folk, and gave their commander the title of king of the East An- 
gles, whch was the fourth Saxon kingdom founded in Britain. 

17. Another body of these adventurers formed a kingdom un- 
der the title of East Saxony, or Essex, comprehending Essex, Mid^ 
dlesex, and part of Hertfordshire. This kingdom, which was 
dismembered from that of Kent, formed the fifth Saxon princi- 
pality founded in Britain. 

18. The kingdom of Mercia was the sixth which was establish- 
ed by these fierce invaders, comprehending all the middle coun- 
ties, from the banks of the Severn, to the frontiers of the two 
J"ast named kingdoms. 

19. The seventh and last kins;dom which they obt«ined was 

A^2 J, 



10 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 2. 

that of Northumberland, one of the most powerful and extensive 
of them all. This was formed from the union of two smaller Sax- 
on kingdoms, the one called Bernica, containing the present 
county of Northumberland, and the bishoprick of Durham ; the 
subjects of the other, called the Deiri, extending themselves over 
Lancashire and Yorkshire. 

20. These kingdoms were united in the person of Ethelfred, 
king of Northumberland, hj the expulsion of Edwin, his brother- 
in-law, from the kingdom of of the Deiri, and the seizure of his 
dominions. In this manner, the natives being overpowered, or en- 
tirely expelled, seven kingdoms were established in Britain, which 
have been well known by the name of the Saxon Heptarchy. 

21. The Saxons being thus established in all the desirable 
parts of the island, and having no longer the Britons to contend 
with, • 3gan to quarrel among themselves. A country divided 
into a number of petty independent principalities, must ever be 
subject to contention, as jcaloiis}'^ and ambition have more fre- 
quent incentives to operate. 

22. After a series, therefore, of battles, treasons, and strata- 
gems, all these petty principalities fell under the power of Eg- 
bert, king of Wessex, whose merit deserved dominion, and 
whose prudence secured his conquests. 

23. By him all the kingdoms of the Heptarchy were united 
Under one common jurisdiction ; but to give splendour to his au- 
thority, a general council of the clergy and laity was summoned 
at Winchester, where he was solemnly crowned king of England, 
by which name the^united kingdom was thenceforward called. 

24. Thus, about four hundred years after the first arrival of 
the Saxons in Britain, all their petty settlements were united 
into one great state, and nothing offered but prospects of peace, 
security, and increasing reiinement. 

26. It was about this time that St. Gregory undertook to send 
missionaries among the Saxons, to convert them to Christianity. 
It is said, that before his elevation to the papal chair, he chanced 
one day to pass through the slave market at Rome, and perceiv- 
ing some children of great beauty, who were set up for sale, he 
inquired about their country, and finding they were English 
pages, be is said to have cried ouf in ihe Latin language : JVoji 
A}igli, sed Angeli forcnt, si essent Christiani : They would not 
be English, but Angels, had they been christians. From that 
time he was struck with an ardent desire to co.^/ert that unen- 
lightened nation, and ordered n monk, named Augustine, and 
others of the same fraternity, to undertake the mission into 
Britain. 

26. This pious monk, upon his first landing in the isle of Tha- 
net, sent one of his interpreters to Ethelbert the Kentish king, 



Chap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. U 

tleclaring he was come from Rome with offers of eternal salva- 
tion. The king immediately ordered them to be furnished with 
all necessaries, and even visited them, though without declaring 
himself as yet in their favour. Augustine, however, encou- 
raged by this favourable reception, and now seeing a prospect of 
success, proceeded with redoubled zeal to preach the gospel. 

27. The king openly espoused the christian religion, while 
his example wrought so successfully on his subjects, that num- 
bers of them came voluntarily to be baptized, their missioner 
loudly declaring against any coercive means towards their con- 
version. In this manner, the other kingdoms, one after the 
other, embraced the faith ; and England was soon as famous for 
its superstition, as it had once been for its averseness to Chris- 
tianity. 



CHAPTER III.— The Invasion of the Danes. 

1 . Peace and unanimity had been scarcely established in Eng- 
land, when a mighty swarm of those nations called Danes, who 
had possessed the countries bordering on the Baltic, began to 
leval their fury against England. A small body of them first 
landed on the coasts, with a view to learn the state of the coun- 
try ; and having committed some small depredations, iled to 
their ships for safety. 

2. About seven years after this first attempt, they made a de- 
scent upon the kingdom of Northumberland, where they pillaged a 
monastery ; but their fleet being shattered by a storm, they were 
defeated by the inhabitants, and put to the sword. It was not 
till about five years after the accession of Egbert, that their in- 
vasions became truly formidable. From that time they continu- 
ed with unceasing ferocity, until the whole kingdom was redu- 
ced to a state of the most distressful bondage. 

3. Though often repulsed, they always obtained their end, of 
spoiling the country, and carrying the plunder away. It was 
their method to avoid coming, if possible, to a general engage- 
ment, but scattering themselves over the face of the country, 
they carried away indiscriminately, as well the inhabitants 
themselves, as all their moveable possessions. 

4. At length, however, they resolved upon making a settle- 
ment in the country, and landing on the isle of Tlianet stationed 
tliemselves there. In this place they kept their groimd, not- 
withstanding a bloody victory gained over them by Ethel wolf. 
The reign of Ethelbald, his successor, was of no long continu- 
ance ; however, in so short a space, he crowded a number of 
Tices sufficient to render his name odious to posterity. 



J 2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3. 

5. This prince was succeeded by his brother Ethelred, a 
brave comniander, but whose valour was insufficient to repress 
the Danish incursions. In these exploits he was always assisted 
by his younger brother, Alfred, afterwards surnamed the great, 
who sacriliced all private resentment to the pubUc good, liaving 
been deprived by the king of a large patrimony. It was during 
Ethelred's reign, that the Danes, penetrating into Mercia, took 
up their winter quarters at Nottingham ; from whence the king 
attempting to dislodge them, received a wound in the battle, of 
which he died, leaving his brother Alfred to the inheritance of 
a kingdom that was now reduced to the brink of ruin. 

6. The Danes had already subdued Northumberland and 
East Anglia, and had penetrated into the very heart of Wessex. 
The Mercians were united against Alfred ; the dependence upon 
the other provinces of the empire was but precarious ; the 
lands lay uncultivated, through fears of continual incursions : 
and all the churches and monasteries were burned to the ground. 
In this terrible situation of afl'airs, nothing appeared but objects 
of terror, and every hope was lost in despair. The wisdom and 
virtues of one man alone were found sufficient to bring back hap- 
piness, security and order ; and all the calamities of the times 
found redress from Alfred. 

6. This prince seemed born not only to defend his bleeding 
country, but even to adorn humanity. He had given very early 
instances of those great virtues which afterwards gave splendour 
to his reign ; and was annointed by pope Leo, a future king, 
%vhen he was sent by his father for his education to Rome. On 
his return from thence, he became every day more the object of 
his father's fond affections, and that, perhaps, was the reason 
why his education was first neglected. 

7. He had attained the age of twelve, before he was made ac- 
quainted with the lowest elements of literature ; but heariiig 
some Saxon poems read, which recounted the praise of heroes, 
his whole mind was roused not only to obtain a similitude of 
glory, but also to be able to transmit that glory to posterity. 
Encouraged by the queen his mother, and assisted by a pene- 
trative genius, he soon learned to read these compositions, and 
proceeded from thence to a knowledge of Latin authors, who di- 
rected his taste, and rectified his ambition. 

8. He was scarce come to the crown, when he was obliged 
lO oppose the Danes, who had seized Wilton, and were exer- 
cising their usual ravages on the country around. He marched 
against them witti the few troops he could assemble on a sudden, 
and a desperate battle was fought to the disadvantage of the 
English. But it was not in the power of misfortune to abato 
Uie king's diligence, though it repressed his power to do ^ood. 



Chap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 13 

9. He was in a little time enabled to hazard another engage- 
ment ; so that the enemy dreading his courage and activity, 
proposed terms of peace, which he did not think proper to re- 
iuse. They, by this treaty, agreed to relinquish the kingdom ; 
but instead of. complying with their engagements, they only re- 
moved from one place to another, burning and destroying 
wherever they came. 

10. Alfred, thus opposed to an enemy whom no stationary 
force could resist, nor no treaty could bind, found himself unable 
to repel the force of those ravagers, who from all quarters in- 
vaded him. New swarms of the enemy arrived every year 
upon the coast, and fresh invasions were still projected. Some 
of his subjects therefore left their country, and retired into 
Wales, or fled to the continent. Others submitted to the con- 
querors, and purchased their lives by their freedom. 

11. In this universal detection, Alfred vainly attempted to re- 
mind them of the duty they owed their country and their king ; 
but finding his remonstrances ineil'ectual, he was obliged to give 
way to the wretched necessity of the times. Accordingly, re- 
linquishing the ensigns of his dignity, and dismissing his servants, 
he dressed himself in the habit of a peasant, and lived for some 
time in the house of an herdsman, who had been entrusted with 
the care of his cattle. 

12. In this manner, though abandoned by the world, and fear- 
ing an enemy in every quarter, still he resolved to continue in 
his country, to catch the slightest occasions for bringing it relief, 
in his solitary retreat, which was in the county of Somerset, at 
the confluence of the rivers Parret and Thone, he amused him- 
self with music, and supported his humble lot with the hopes of 
better fortune. 

13. It is said, that one day being commanded, by the herds- 
man's wife, who was ignorant of his quality, to take care of some 
cakes, which were baking by the fire, he happened to let them 
burn, for which neglect she severely upbraided him. 

14. Previous to his retirement, Alfred had concerted mea- 
sures for assembling a few trusty friends, whenever an op- 
portunity should offer of annoying the enemy, who were now in 
possession of all the country. This chosen band, still faithful 
to their monarch, took shelter in the forests and marshes of So- 
merset, and from thence made occasional irruptions upon strag- 
gling parties of the enemy. 

15. Their success, in this rapacious and dreary method of 
Jiving, encouraged many more to join their society, till at length 
sufficiently augmented, they repaired to their monarch, who had 
by that time been reduced by famine to the last extremity. 

1^ Meanwhil© Ubba, the chief of the Danish cammanders> 



14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3 

carried terror over the whole land, and now ravaged the country 
of Wales without opposition ; the only place where he found re- 
sistance was, in his return, from the castle of Kenwith, into which 
the earl of Devonshire had retired with a small body of troops. 

17. This gallant soldier finding himself unable to sustain a 
siege, and knowing the danger of surrendering to so perfidious 
an enemy, was resolved, by one desperate effort, to sally out 
and force his way through the besiegers, sword in hand. The 
proposal was embraced by all his followers, while the Danes, 
secure in their numbers, and in their contempt of the enemy, 
were not only routed with great slaughter, but Ubba, their ge- 
neral, was slain. 

18. This victory once more restored courage to the dispirit- 
ed Saxons; and Alfred, taking advantage of their favourable dispo- 
sition, prepared to animate them to a vigorous exertion of their 
superiority. He soon, therefore, apprised them of the place 
of his retreat, and instructed them to be ready, with all their 
strength, at a minute's warning. 

19. But still none was found, who would undertake to give in- 
telligence of the forces and posture of the enemy ; not knowing, 
iherefore, a person in whom he could confide, he undertook 
this dangerous task himself. 

20. In the dress of a shepherd, with a harp in his hand, he en- 
tered the Danish camp, tried all his musical art to please, and was 
so much admired, that he was brought even into the presence of 
Guthrum, the Danish prince, with whom he remained some days. 

21. There he remarked the supine security of the Danes ; their 
contempt of the English, their negligence in foraging, and plun- 
dering, and their dissolute wasting of such ill-gotten booty. Hav- 
ing made his observations, he returned to his retreat, and detach- 
ing proper emissaries among his subjects, appointed them to meet 
him in arms, in the forest of Selwood, a summons which they 
gladly obeyed. 

22. It was against the most unguarded quarter of the enemy 
that Alfred made his most violent attack, while the Danes, sur- 
prized to behold an army of English, whom they considered as 
totally subdued, made but a faint resistance ; notwithstanding the 
superiority of their number, they were routed with great slaugh- 
ter ; and though such as escaped fled for refuge into a fortified 
camp in the neighbourhood, being unprovided for a seige, in lees 
than a fortnight ttiey were compelled to surrender at discretion. 

23. By the conqueror's permission, those who did not choose 
to embrace Christianity embarked for Flanderfe, under the com- 
mand of one of their generals, called Hastings. Guthrum, 
their prince, became a convert, with thirty of his nobles, and 
the king himself answered for him at the font. 



Ghap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 15 

24. Alfred had now attained the meridian of his glory ; he pos- 
sessed a greater extent of territory than had ever been enjoyed 
by any of his predecessors ; the king« of Wales did him homage 
for their possessions, the Northumbrians received a king of his 
appointing, and no enemy appeared to give him the least appre- 
liension, or to excite an alarm. 

25. In this state of prosperity, and profound tranquilHty, 
^vhich lasted for twelve years, Alfred was diligently employed 
in cultivating the arts of peace, and repairing the damages which 
the kingdom had sustained by war. 

26. His care was to polish the country by arts, as he had pro- 
tected it by arms. He is said to have drawn up a body of laws. 
His care for the encouragement of learning did not a little tend 
to improve the morals and restrain the barbarous habits of the 
people. 

27. When he came to the throne, he found the English sunk 
in the grossest ignorance and barbarism, proceeding from the 
continued disorders of the governmeat, and from the ravages of 
the Danes. 

28. He himself complains, that on his accession he knew not 
one person south of the Thames who could so much as interpret 
the Latin service. 

29. To remedy this deficiency, he invited over the most cele- 
brated scholars from all parts of Europe ; he founded, or at 
least re-established the University of Oxford, and endowed it 
with many privileges, and he gave, in his own example, the 
strongest incentives to study. 

30. He usually divided his time into three equal portions ; 
one was given to sleep, and the refection of his body, diet, and 
exercise ; another to the despatch of business, and the third to 
study and devotion. 

31. He made a considerable progress in the different studies 
of grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, architecture, and geometry, 
lie was an excellent historian, he understood music, he was ac- 
knowledged to be the best Saxon poet of the age, and left many 
works behind him, some of which remain to this day. 

32. To give a character of this prince would only be to sum 
up those qualities which constitute perfection. Even virtues 
seemingly opposite, were happily blended in his disposition ; 
persevering, yet flexible ; moderate, yet enterprising ; just, yet 
merciful ; stern in command, yet gentle in conversation. Na- 
ture also, as if desirous that such admirable qualities of mind 
should be set off to the greatest advantage, had bestowed on him 
all bodily accomplishments, vigour, dignity, and an engaging, 
open countenance. 

'?3. liis second son, Edward, succeeded him on the throne. 



16 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3. 

To him succeeded Athelstan, his natural son, the illegitimacy of 
his birth not being deemed a sufficient obstacle to his inheriting 
the crown. 

34. He died at Gloucester, after a reign of sixteen years, and 
was succeeded by his brother Edmund, who like the rest of his 
predecessors, met with disturbance from the Northumbrians, on 
his accession to the throne ; but his activity soon defeated their 
attempts. The resentment this monarch bore to men of an 
abandoned way of living, v/as the cause of his death. He was 
killed by Leolf, a robber, at a feast, where this villain had the 
insolence to intrude into the king's presence. 

35. His brother Edred was appointed to succeed, and like his 
predecessors, this monarch found himself at the head of a rebel- 
lious and refractory people. Edred implicitly submitted to the 
directions of Dunstan the monk, both in church and state, and 
the kingdom was in a fair way of being turned into a papal pro- 
vince by this zealous ecclesiastic; but he was checked in the 
midst of his career, by the death of the king, who died of a quin- 
sey, in the tenth year of his reign. 

36. Edwy, his nephew, who ascended the throne, his own 
Sons being yet uniit to govern, was a prince of great personal ac- 
complishments and a martial disposition. But he was now come 
to the government of a kingdom, in which he had an enemy to 
contend with, against whom all military virtues could be of little 
service. Dunstan, who had governed during the former reign, 
was resolved to omit nothing of his authority in this ; and Edwy, 
immediately upon his accession, found himself involved in a 
quarrel with the monks, whose rage, neither his accomplish- 
Iiicnts, nor his virtues could mitigate. 

37. Among other instances of their cruelty, the following is 
recorded. Thfere was a lady of (he royal blood, named Elgiva, 
whose beauty had made a strong impression upon the young mo- 
narch's heart. He had even ventured to marry her, contrary to 
the advice of his counsellors, as she was within the degrees of 
affinity prohibited by the canon law. On the day of his corona- 
tion, while his nobility were giving loose to the more noisy 
pleasures of wine and festivity in the great hall, Edwy retired 
to his wife's apartment, where, in company with her mother, 
he enjoyed the more pleasing satisfiiction of her conversation. 

38. Dunstan no sooner perceived his absence than conjectur- 
ing the reason, he rushed furiously into the apartment, theii 
upbraiding him with all the bitterness of ecclesiastical rancour, 
dragged him forth in the most outrageous manner. Dunstan, it 
seems, was not without his enemies, for the king was advised to 
punish this insult, by bringing him to account for the money 
with which he had been entrusted during the last reign. 



Chap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. f7 

39. This account the haughty monk refused to give in ; 
wherefore he was deprived of all the ecclesiastical and civil 
emoluments, of which he had been in possession, and banished 
the kingdom. 

40. His exile only served to increase his reputation for sanc- 
tity with the people ; among the rest Odo, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, was so far transported with the spirit of party, that 
he pronounced a divorce between Edwy and Elgiva. The 
king was unable to resist the indignation of the church, and 
consented to surrender his beautiful wife to its fury. 

41. Accordingly, Odo sent into the palace a party of soldiers, 
who seized the queen, and by his order, branded her on the 
face with a hot iron. Not contented with this cruel vengeance, 
they carried her by force into Ireland, and there commanded 
her to remain in perpetual exile. This injunction, however, 
was too distressing for that faithful woman to comply with ; for 
being cured of her wound, and having obliterated the marks 
which had been made to deface her beauty, she once more ven- 
tured to the king, whom she still regarded as her husband. 

42. But misfortunes continued to pursue her. She was 
taken prisoner, by a party whom the archbishop had appointed 
to watch her conduct, and was put to death in the most cruel 
manner ; the sinews of her legs being cut, and her body man" 
gled, she was thus left to expire in the most cruel agony. 

43. In the mean time a secret revolt against Edwy became al- 
most general, and Dunstan put himself at the head of the party. 
The malecontents at last proceeded to open rebellion, and hav- 
ing placed Edgar, the king's younger brother, a boy of about 
thirteen years of age at their head, they soon put him in pos- 
session of all the northern parts of the kingdom. Edwy's power, 
and the number of his adherents, every day declining, he was 
.at last obliged to consent to a partition of the kingdom ; but his 
death, which happened soon after, freed his enemies from all 
further inquietude, and gave Edgar peaceable possession of the 
government. 

44. Edgar being placed on the throne, by the influence of the 
monks, afl'ected to be entirely guided by their direction, in all 
liis succeeding transactions. 

45. Little worthy of notice is mentioned of this monarch ex- 
cept his amour with Elfrida, which is of too singular a nature to 
be omitted. 

46. Edgar had long heard of the beauty of a yeung lady, 
whose name was Elfrida, daughter to the earl of Devonshire ; 
but unwilling to credit common fame in this particular, he sent 
Ethelwald, his favourite friend, to see, and inform him, if Elfrida 
was indeed that incomparable woman report had described her. 



18 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. S^ 

47. Ethelwald arriving at the tarl's, had no sooner cast his eyes 
upon that nobleman's daughter, than he became desperately en- 
amoured of her himself. Such was the violence of his paasioa, 
that forgetting his master's intentions, he solicited only his own 
interest, and demanded for himself the beautiful Elfrida from 
her father in marriage. The favourite of a king was not likely 
to find a refusal ; the earl gave his consent, and their nuptials 
were performed in private. 

48. Upon his return to court, which was shortly after, he as- 
sured the king, that her riches alone, and her high quality, had 
been the cause of her fame, and he appeared amazed how the 
world could talk so much, and so unjustly, of her charms. The 
king was satisfied, and no longer felt any curiosity, while Ethel- 
wald secretly triumphed in his adddress. 

49. When he had by his deceit, weaned the king from his 
purpose, he took an opportunity, after some time, of turning the 
conversation on Elfrida, representing, that though the fortune 
of the earl of Devonshire's daughter would be a trifle to a king, 
yet it would be an immense acquisition to a needy subject. He 
therefore humbly entreated permission to pay his addresses to 
her, as she was the richest heiress in the kingdom. A request 
so seemingly reasonable, was readily complied with ; Ethelwald 
returned to his wife, and the nuptials were solemnized in public. 

60. His greatest care, however, was employed in keeping her 
from court ; and he took every precaution to prevent her from 
appearing before a king so susceptible of love, while she was so ca- 
pable of inspiring that passion. But it was impossible to keep his 
treachery long concealed. Edgar was soon informed of the 
whole transaction ; but dissembling his resentment, he took occa- 
sion to visit that part of the country, where this miracle of beauty 
was detained, accompanied by Ethelwald, who reluctantly attend- 
ed him thither. 

61. Upon coming near the lady's habitation he told him that 
he had a curiosity to see his wife, of whom he had formerly heard 
so much, and desired to be introduced as his acquaintance. 
Ethelwald, thunder struck at the proposal, did all in his power, 
but in vain, to dissuade him. All he could obtain, was permission 
to go before, on pretence of preparing for the king's reception. 

62. On his arrival, he fell at his wife's feet, confessing what 
he had done to be possessed of her charms, and conjuring her to 
conceal, as much as possible, her beauty from the king, who was 
but too susceptible of its power. Elfrida, little obliged to him for 
a passion which had deprived her of a crown, promised compli- 
ance ; but prompted either by vanity, or revenge, adorned her 
person with the most exanisite art, and called up all her beauty 
on the occasion. 



Chap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 19 

53. The event answered her expectations ; the king no sooner 
saw her than he loved her, and was instantly resolved to obtaia 
her. The better to effect hip intentions, he concealed his pas- 
sion from the husband, and took leave with a seeming indiffer- 
ence ; but his revenge was not the leas certain and fatal. 

64. Ethehvald was some time after sent into Noi thumberland, 
upon pretence of urgent affairs, and was found murdered in a 
wood by the way. Some say he was stabbed by the king's own 
hand ; some, that he only commanded the assassination ; however 
this be, Elfrida was invitedsoon afterto court, by the king's own or- 
der, and their nuptials were performed with the usual solemnities. 

65. This monarch died after a reign of sixteen years, in the 
thirty-third year of his age, being succeeded by his son Edward, 
whom he had by his first marriage with the daughter of the earl 
of Ordmar. 

56. Edward, surnamedthe Martyr, was made king by the in- 
terest of the monks, and lived but four years after his accession. 
In his reign there is nothing remarkable, if we except his tragical 
and memorable end. Hunting one day near Corfe Castle, where 
Elfrida, his motner-in-law resided, he thought it his duty to pay 
her a visit, although he was not attended by any of his retinue. 
There^ desiringsome liquor to be brought to him, as he was thirsty, 
while he was yet holding the cup to his head, one of Elfrida's 
domestics, instructed for that purpose, stabbed him in the back. 
I'he king finding himself wounded, put spurs to his horse ; but 
fainting with the loss of blood he fell fom the saddle, and his foot 
sticking in the stirrup, he was dragged along by his horse, till he 
died. 

67. Ethelred, the second son of Edgar and Elfrida, suc- 
ceeded ; a weak and irresolute monarch, incapable of govern- 
ing the kingdom, or providing for its safety. During his reign, 
the old and terrible enemies, the Danes, who seemed not to be 
loaded with the same accumulation of vice and folly as the En- 
glish, were daily gaining ground. The weakness and the inex- 
perience of Ethelred appeared to give them an opportunity of re- 
newing their depredations ; and accordingly, they landed on seve- 
ral parts of the coast, speading their usual terror and devastation. 
58. As they lived indiscriminately among the English, a reso- 
lution was taken for a general massacre ; and Ethelred, by a 
policy incident to weak princes, embraced the cruel resolution 
of putting them all to the sword. This plot was carried on with 
such secrecy, that it was executed in one day, and all the Danes 
in England were destroyed without mercy. But this massacre, 
io perfidious in the contriving, and so cruel in the execution, in 
steaG of ending the long miseries of the people, only prepared 
tlie way for greater calamities 



20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 5. 

69. While the English were yet congratulating each other up- 
on their late deliverance from an inveterate enemy, Sweyn, king 
of Denmark, who had been informed of their treacherous cruel- 
ties, appeared off the western coasts with a large fleet, meditat- 
ing slaughter, and furious with revenge. Ethelred was obliged 
to fly into Normandy, and the whole country thus came under 
the power of Sweyn, his victorious rival. 

60. Canute, afterwards surnamed the Great, succeeded Sweyn, 
as king of Denmark, and also as general of the Danish forces in 
England. The contest between him and Edmund Ironsides, suc- 
cessor to Ethelred, was managed with great obstinacy and per- 
severance ; the first battle that was fought, appeared undecisive ; a 
second followed, in which the Danes were victorious ; but Ed- 
mund still having interest enough to bring a third army into the 
field, the Danish and English nobility equally harrassed by these 
convulsions, obliged their kings to come to a compromise, and 
to divide the kingdom between them by treaty. Canute reserv- 
ed to himself the nothern parts of the kingdom, the southern 
parts were left to Edmund ; but this prince being murdered 
about a month after the treaty, by his two chamberlains at 
Oxford, Canute was left in peaceable possession of the whole 
kingdom. 

6 1 . Canute is represented by some historians as one of the 
first characters in those barbarous ages : The piety of the lat- 
ter part of his life, and the resolute valour of the former, were 
topics that filled the mouths of his courtiers with flattery and 
praise. They even affected to think his power uncontrollable, 
and that all things would be obedient to his command. 

62. Canute, sensible of their adulation, is said to have taken 
the followmg method to reprove them. He ordered his chair to 
be set on the sea shore while the tide was coming in, and com- 
manded the sea to retire. " Thou art under my dominion," cried 
he .; '* the laiid upon which I sit is mine ; I charge thee therefore to 
approach no farther, nor dare to wet the feet of thy sovereign." 

63. He feigned to sit some time in expectation of submission, 
till the waves began to surround him : then turning to his cour- 
tiers he cbserved, that the title of lord and master belonged on- 
ly to him whom both earth and seas w ere ready to obey. Thus 
feared and respected, he lived many years, honoured with the 
surname of Great for his power, but deserving it still more for 
his virtues. 

64. He died at Shaftsbury, in the nineteenth year of his reign, 
leaving behind him three sons, Sweyn, Harold, Hardicanute. 
Sweyn was crowned king of Norway, Hardicanute was put in 
possession of Denmark, and Harold succeeded his father on the 
English throne. 



Chap. 3. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 21 

65. To Harold succeeded his brother Hardicanute, whose title 
was readily acknowledged both by the Danes and English ; and 
upon his arrival from the continent he was received with the 
most extravagant demonstrations of jo}^ The king's violent and 
unjust government was but of short duration. He died two 
years after his accession, in conseo.uence of excess at the mar- 
riage of a Danish lord, which was celebrated at Lambeth. 

66. The disorders of the Danish monarchies once more indu- 
ced the English to place a monarch of the Saxon line upon the 
throne* and accordingly Edward, surnamed the Confessor, was 
by the general consent, crowned king. 

67. The English, who had long groaned under a foreign yoke, 
now set no bounds to their joy, at finding the line of their ancient 
monarchs restored. 

68. As he had been bred in the Norman court, he showed m 
every instance, a predilection for the customs, laws, and even 
the natives of that country ; and among the rest of his faults, 
though he had married Editha, the daughter of Goodwin, yet, ei- 
ther from mistaken piety, or fixed aversion, during his whole 
reign he abstained from her bed. 

69. Thus having no legitimate issue, and being wholly en- 
grossed, during the continuance of a long reign, with the visions 
of superstition, he was at last surprised by sickness,which brought 
him to his end on the fifth of January, in the sixty-fifth year of 
his age, and twenty-fifth of his reign. 

70. Harold, the son of a popular nobleman, whose name was 
Goodwin, and whose intrigues and virtues seemed to give a right 
to his pretensions, ascended the throne without any opposition. 

71. But neither his valour, his justice, nor his popularity, 
were able to secure him from the misfortunes attendant upon 
an ill grounded title. His pretensions were opposed by Wil - 
liam, Duke of Normandy, who insisted that the crown belonged 
of right to him, it being bequeathed to him by Edward the Con- 
fessor. 

72. William, who was afterwards called the Conqueror, was 
the natural son of Robert, duke of Normandy. His mother's 
name was Arlette, a beautiful maid of Falaise, with whom Ro- 
bert fell in love as she stood gazing at her door whilst he passed 
through the town. William, who was the offspring of this 
amour, owed a part of his greatness to his birth, but still more 
to his own personal merit. His body was vigorous, his mind 
capacious and noble, and his courage not to be repressed by ap- 
parent danger. ^ 

73. Upon coming to his dukedom of Normandy, though yet 
Tery young, he on all sides opposed his rebellious subjects and 
repressed foreign invaders, while his valour and conduct prevail- 



g2 HISTORY tJF ENGLAND. Chap. 3, 

ed in every action. The tranquillity which he had thus es- 
tablished in his dominions, induced him to extend his views ; 
a^d some overtures made him hy Edward the Confessor, in the 
latter part of his reign, who was wavering in the choice of a 
successor, inflamed his ambition with a desire of succeeding to 
the English throne. 

74. The pope himself was not behind the rest in favouring 
his pretensions ; but either influenced by the apparent justice 
of his claims, or by the hopes of extending the authority of the 
church, he immediately pronounced Harold an usurper. With 
such favourable incentives, William soon found himself at the 
head of a chosen army of sixty thousand men, all equipped in 
the most warlike and splendid manner. 

75. It was in the beginning of summer that he embarked this 
powerful body on board a fleet of three hundred sail, and after 
some small opposition from the weather, landed at Pevensy, on 
the coast of Sussex, with resolute tranquillity. 

76. Harold, who seemed resolved to defend his right to the 
crown, and retain that sovereignty which he had received from 
the people, who only had a right to bestow it, was now return- 
mg, flushed with conquest, from defeating the Norwegians, 
who had invaded the kingdom, with all the forces he had em- 
ployed in that expedition, and all he could invite or collect in 
tlie country through which he passed. 

77. His army was composed of active and valiant troops, in 
high spirits, strongly attached to their king, and eager to engage. 
On the other hand, the army of William consisted of the flow- 
er of all the continent, and had been long inured to danger. 

78. The men of Bretagne, Bologne, Flanders, Poictou, Maine, 
Orleans, France, and Normandy, were all voluntarily united un- 
der his comm:ind. En;^land never before, nor ever since, saw 
two such armies drawn up to dispute its crown. 

79. The day before the battle, William senic an off"er to Ha- 
rold to decide the quarrel between them by single combat, and 
thus to spare the blood of thousands ; but Harold refused, and 
said he would leave it to the God of armies to determine. Both 
armies therefore that night pitched in sight of each other, ex- 
pecting the tiawning of the day wdth impatience. The English 
passed the night in songs and feasting ; the Normans in devotion 
and prayer. 

80. The next morning at seven, as soon as day appeared, 
both armies were drawn up in array against each other. Ha- 
rold appeared in the centre of his forces, leading on his army on 
foot, that his men might be more encouraged by seeing their 
king exposed to an equality of danger. William fought on horse- 
back, leading on his army th^\t moved at once, singing the song 
of Roland, one of the famous chiefs of their countjVo 



I Ohap. 4. WILLIAM I. 25 

F 81. The Normans began the fight with their crossbows, which 
? at first galled and surprised the English, and as their ranks were 
; close their arrows did great execution. But soon they came to 
f closer fight, and the English with their bills, hewed down their 
I adversaries with great slaughter. 

I 82. Confusion was spreading among their ranks, when William, 
who found himself on the brink of destruction, hastened with a 
select band, to the relief of his forces. By his presence the bat- 
tle was again rendered doubtful ; he was seen in every place, 
endeavo'iring to pierce the ranks of the enemy, and had three 
horses -tlain under him. 

83. At length, perceiving that the EngHsh line continued im- 
penetrable, he pretended to give ground, which, as he expected, 
drew the enemy from their ranks, and he was instantly ready to 
take advantage of their disorder. Upon a signal given, the Nor- 
mans immediately returned to the charge with greater fury 
than before, broke the English troops, and pursued them to a 
rising ground. 

84. It was in this extremity, that Harold was seen flying from 
rank to rank, rallying and inspiring his troops with vigour ; am 
though he had toiled all day, till near night fall, in the front O'^ 
his Kentish men, yet he still seemed unabated in force of ecu 
rage, keeping his men to the post of honour. Once more, there 
fore, the victory seemed to turn against the Normans, and they 
fell in great numbers, so that the fierceness and obstinacy of this 
memorable battle was often renewed by the courage of the lead- 
ers, whenever that of the soldiers began to slacken. 

85. Fortune, at length determined a victory that valour was 
unable to decide. Harold making a furious onset at the head of 
his troops, against the Norman heavy armed infantry, was shot 
into the brains by an arrow ; and his two valiant brothers, fight- 
ing by his side, shared the same fate. He fell with his sword 
in his hand, amidst heaps of slain, and after the battle, the royal 
corpse could hardly be distinguished among the dead. 

86. This was the end of the Saxon monarchy m England, 
which had continued for more than six hundred years 



CHAPTER IV.— William the Conqueror. 

1. AS soon as William passed the Thames, at Waliingford, 
Stigand; the primate, made submissions to him, in the name of 
the clergy ; and before he came within sight of the city, all the 
chief nobility came into his camp, and declared an intention of 
yielding to his authority. William was glad of being thus peace- 
ably put in possession of a throne, which several of his prede- 
.cessors had not gained without repeated victories. 



24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 4 

2. But in order to give his invasion all the sanction possible, 
he was crowned at Westminster, by the archbishop of York, and 
took the oath usual in the times of the Saxon and Danish kings, 
which was to protect and defend the church, to observe the laws 
of the realm, and to govern the people with impartiality. 

3. Having thus secured the government, and by a mixture of 
vigour and lenity brought the English to an entire submission, 
he resolved to return to the continent, there to enjoy the tri- 
umph and congratulations of his ancient subjects. 

4. In the mean time the absence of the conqueror in England 
produced the most fatal effects. His officers being no longer 
controlled by his justice, thought this a fit opportunity for 
extortion ; while the English no longer awed by his presence» 
thought it the happiest occasion for vindicating their freedom. 

6. The English had entered into a conspiracy to cut off their 
invaders, and fixed the day for their intended massacre, which 
was to be on Ash Wednesday, during the time of divine service, 
when all the Normans would be unarmed, as penitents, accord- 
ing to the discipline of the times. 

6. But William's return quickly disconcerted all their 
schemes, and from that time forward he began to lose all confi* 
dence in his English subjects, and to regard them as inveterate 
and irreconcilable enemies. 

7. He had already raised such a number of fortresses in the 
kingdom, that he no longer dreaded the tumultuous, or transient 
efforts of a discontented multitude ; he therefore determined to 
treat them as a conquered nation, to indulge his own avarice, and 
that of his followers, by numerous confiscations, and to secure 
his power by humbling all who were able to make any resist- 
ance. 

8. He proceeded to confiscate all the estates of the English 
gentry, and to grant them liberally to his Norman followers. 
Thus all the ancient and honourable families were reduced to 
beggary, and the English found themselves entirely excluded 
from every road, that led either to honour or preferment. 

9. To keep the clergy as much as possible in his interests, 
he appointed none but his own countrymen to the most consi- 
derable church dignities, and even displaced Stigand, archbishop 
of Canterbury, upon some frivolous pretences. 

10. William having crushed several conspiracies, and by 
punishing the malecontents, thus secured the peace of his do- 
minions, now expected rest from his labours ; and finding none 
either willing, or powerful enough to oppose him, he hoped that 
the end of his reign would be marked with prosperity and peace. 

11. But such is the blindness of human hope, that he found 
enemies where he least expected them, and such too as served 



Cliap. 4 WILLIAM I. U 

to embitter all the latter part of his life. His last troubles were 
excited by his own children, from the opposing of whom he 
could expect to reap neither glory nor gain. 

12. He had three sons, Robert, William, and Henry, besides 
several daughters. Robert, his eldest son, surnamed Curchose, 
from the shortness of his legs, was a prince who inherited all the 
bravery of his family and nation, but was rather bold than pru 
dent, and was often heard to express his jealousy of his two 
brothers, William and Henry. These, by great assiduity, had 
wrought upon the credulity and afiection of the king, and conse- 
quently were the more obnoxious to Robert. A mind, therefore, 
^0 well prepared for resentment, soon found or raadli a cause for 

n open rupture. 

13. The princes were one day in sport together, and in the 
idle petulance of play, took it into their heads to throw water 
upon their elder brother, as he passed through the court, on 
leaving their apartment. Robert, all alive to suspicion, quicklj'^ 

arned this frolic into a studied indignity ; and having these jea- 
lousies still further inflamed by one of the favourites, he drew his 
sword and ran up stairs with intent to take revenge. 

14. The whole castle was quickly filled with tumult, and it 
was not without some difliculty, that the king himself was able to 
appease it. But he could not allay the animosity, which from 
that moment ever after prevailed in his family. Robert, attended 
by several of his confederates, withdrew to Rouen that very 
night, hoping to surprise the castle, but Ins design was defeated 
by the governor. 

16. The flame being thus kindled, the popular character of 
the prince, and a sympathy of manners, engaged all the young 
nobility of Normandy and Maine, as well as of Anjou and Brittan- 
ny, to espouse his quarrel ; even his mother, it is said, supported 
him by secret remittances, and aided him in this obstinate resist- 
ance, by private encouragement. 

16. This unnatural contest continued several years to inflame 
the Norman state, and William was at last obliged to have re- 
course to England for supporting his authority against his son. 
Accordingly, drawing an army of Englishmen together, he led 
them over into Normandy, where he soon compelled Robert and 
his adherents to quit the field, and he was quickly reinstated in 
all his dominions. 

17. Wilham had scarcely put an end to this transaction, whea 
he felt a very severe blow in the death of Matilda, his queen ; 
and as misfortunes frequently come together, he received inform- 
ation of a general insurrection in Maine, the nobility of which 
had been always averse to the Norman government. 

18. Upon his arrival on the continent, he found that the insur- 

B 



26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 5. 

gents had been secretly assisted and excited by the king of France, 
whose policy consisted in thus lessening the Norman power, by 
creating dissentions among the nobles of its different provinces. 

19. WiUiam's displeasure was not u little increased by the ac 
count he received of some railleries which that monarch had 
thrown out against him. It seems that William, who was corpu- 
lent, had been detained in bed some time by sickness, and Philip 
was heard to say that he only lay in of a big belly. 

20. This so provoked the English monarch that he sent him 
word that he would soon be up, and would at his churching pre- 
sent such a number of tapers as would set the kingdom of France 
in a flame. ^ 

21. In order to perform this promise, he levied a strong army, 
and entering the Isle of France, destroyed and burned all the 
villages and houses without opposition, and took the town of 
Mante, which he reduced to ashes. But the progress of these 
hostilities was stopped by an accident, which shortly after put 
an end to William's life. 

22. His horse chancing to place his fore foot on some hot ashes, 
plunged so violently that the rider was thrown forward, and bruis- 
ed upon the pommel of the saddle, to such a degree, that he suf- 
fered a relapse, of which he died shortly after, at a little viWige 
near Rouen. 



CHAPTER v.— William Rufus. 

1. William, siirnamed Rufus, from the colour of his hair, 
was appointed by the king's will, his successor, while the eldest 
son, Robert, was left in possession of Normandy. Nevertheless, 
the Norman barons were, from the beginning, displeased at the 
division of the empire by the late king 5 they eagerly desired an 
union as before, and looked upon Robert as the proper owner of 
the whole. A powerful conspiracy was therefore carried on 
against William, and Odo, the late king's brother, undertook to 
conduct it to maturity. 

2. W^illiam, sensible of the danger that threatened him, endea- 
voured to gain the affections of the native Enghsh, whom he pre- 
vailed upon, by promises of future good treatment, and prefer- 
ence in the distribution of his favours, to espouse his interests. 
He was soon therefore in the field, and at the head of a nume- 
rous army, showed himself in readiness to oppose all who would 
dispute his pretensions. 

3. In the meantime, Robert, instead of employing his money 
in levies, to support his friends in England, squandered it away 
in idle expenses, and unmerited benefits > so that he procrastinat- 



Chap. 5. WILLIAM II 27 

ed his departure, till the opportunity was lost ; while William 
exerted himself with incredible activity to dissipate the confede- 
racy before his brother could arrive. 

4. Nor was this difficult to eifect; the conspirators had, in 
consequence of Robert's assurances, taken possession of some 
fortresses, but the appearance of the king soon reduced them to 
implore for mercy. He granted them their lives, but confiscat- 
ed all their estates, and banished them the kingdom. 

5. A new breach was made some time after between the bro- 
thers, in which Rufus found means to encroach still further upon 
Robert's possessions. Every conspiracy thus detected, served 
to enrich the king, who took care to apply to his own use those 
treasures which had been amassed for the purpose of dethron- 
ing him. ^ 

6. But the memor}'^ of these transient broils, and unsuccessful 
treasons, was nov/ totally eclipsed by one of the most noted en- 
terprises that ever adorned the annals, or excited the attention of 
mankind. I mean the crusades, which were now first projected 

7. Peter the hermit, a native of Amiens, in Picardy, was a 
man of great zeal, courage, and piety. He had made a piL 
grimage to the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, and beheld with 
indignation, the cruel manner in which the christians were treat- 
ed by the infidels, who were in possession of that place. 

8. He preached the crusade over Europe, by the pope's per- 
mission, and men of all ranks flew to arms, with the utmost ala- 
crity, to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels, and each bore 
the sign of the cross upon their right shoulder, as a mark of their 
devotion to the cause. 

9. In the midst of this universal ardour, that was diffused over 
Europe, men were not entirely forgetful of their temporal inte- 
rests ; for some hoping a more magnificent settlement in the 
soft regions of Asia, sold their E-iropean property for whatever 
they could obtain, contented with receiving any thing for what 
they were predetermined to rehnquish. 

10. Among the princes who felt and acknowledged this general 
spirit of enterprise, was R,obert, duke of Normandy. The cru- 
sade was entirely adapted to his inclinations, and his circumstan- 
ces ; he was brave, zealous, covetous of glory, poor, harassed 
by insurrections, anfl what was more than all, naturally fond of 
change. 

1 1 . In order therefore to supply money to defray the neces- 
sary charges of so expensive an undertaking, he offered to mort- 
gage his dukedom of Normandy, to his brother Rufus, for a sti- 
pulated sum of money. This sum, which was no greater than ten 
thousand marks, was readily promised by Rufus, whose ambition 
was upon the watch to seize every advantage. 



28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 6. 

12. But though the cession of Maine and Normandy greatly 
increased the king's territories, they added but httle to his real 
power, as his new subjects were composed of men of independ- 
ent spirits, more ready to dispute than to obey his commands. 
Many were the revolts and insurrections which he was obliged 
to quell in person ; and no sooner was one conspiracy suppress- 
ed, than another rose to give him fresh disquietude. 

13. However, Rufus proceeded, careless of approbation or 
censure, and only intent upon extending his dominions, either 
by purchase or conquest. 

14. The earl of Poictiers and Guienne, inflamed with a desire 
of going upon the crusade, had gathered an immense multitude 
for that expedition, but wanted money to forward his preparations 

15. He had recourse therefore, to Rufus, and offered to mort- 
gage all his dominions, without much considering what would 
become of his unhappy subjects, which he thus disposed of. 

16. The king accepted this offer with his usual avidity, and 
had prepared a fleet and an army, in order to take possession > 
the rich provinces thus consigned to his trust ; but an accident 
put an end to all his ambitious projects. 

17. He was shot by an arrow, discharged by Sir Walter Tyr- 
rel at a deer in the New Forest, which glancing from a tree, 
struck the king to the heart : he dropped dead instantaneously, 
while the innocent author of his death, terrified at the accident, 
put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea shore, embarked for 
France, and joined the crusade, that was then setting out for 
JeruFoJem. 



CHAPTER VI. — Henry 1. surnamed Beauclerc. 

1. Henry, the late king's younger brother, who had been 
hunting in the New Forest, when Rufus was slain, took the ear- 
liest advantage of the occasion, and hastening to Winchester, re- 
solved to secure the royal treasure, which he knew to be the 
best assistant in seconding his aims. The barons, as well as 
the people, acquiesced in a claim which they were unprovided 
to resist, and yielded obedience from the fears of immediate 
danger. 

2. Henry, to ingratiate himself with the people, expelled from 
court all the ministers of his brother's debauchery and arbitra- 
ry power. One thing only remained to confirm his claims 
without danger of a rival. The English still remembered their 
Saxon monarchs with gratitude, and beheld them excluded the 
throne with regret. 

.'H. There still remained some of the descendants of that fa- 1 



Chap. 6. HENRY I. «9 

Tourite line ; and among others, Matilda, the neicc of Edgaf 
Atheling, which lady having decHned all pretensions to royalty 
was bred up in a convent, and had actually taken the veil. Up- 
on her Henry first fixed his eyes as a proper consort, by whose 
means the long breach between the Saxon and Norman interests 
would be finally united. 

4. It only remained to get over the scruple of her being a 
nun ; but this a council, devoted to his interests, readily admit- 
ted ; and Matilda being pronounced free to marry, the nuptials 
were celebrated with great pomp and solemnity. 

6. It was at this unfavourable juncture that Robert returned 
from abroad, and after taking possession of his native dominions, 
laid his claim to the crow^n of England. But proposals for an ac- 
commodation being made, it was stipulated that Robert, upon the 
payment of a certain sum, should resign his y^retensions to Eng 
land ; and that if either of the princes died without issue, the 
other should succeed to his dominions. 

6. This treaty being ratified, the armies on each side were 
disbanded ; and Robert, having lived two months in the utmost 
harmony with his brother, returned in peace to his own do- 
minions. 

7. But Robert's indiscretion soon rendered him unfit to govern 
any state ; he was totally averse to business, and only studious 
of the more splendid amusements or employments of life. His 
servants pillaged him without compunction ; and he is described 
as lying whole days abed for want of clothes, of which they had 
robbed him. 

8. His subjects were treated still more deplorably, for beiag 
under the command of petty and rapacious tyrants, who plunder- 
ed them without mercy, the whole country w^as become a scene 
of violence and depredation. It was in this miserable exigence 
that the Normans at length had recourse to Henry, from whose 
wise administration of his own dominions, they expected a simi- 
litude of prosperity, should he take the reins of theirs. 

9. Henry very readily promised to redress their grievances, 
as he knew it would be the direct method to second his own am- 
bition. The year ensuing, therefore, he landed in Normandy 
with a strong army, took some of the principal towns ; and a 
a battle ensuing, Robert's forces were totally overthrown, and 
he himself taken prisoner, with near ten thousand men, and all 
the considerable barons who had adhered to his misfortunes. 

10. This victory was followed by the total reduction of Nor- 
mandy, while Henry returned in triumph to England, leading 
with him his captive brother, who after a life of bravery, gene- 
rosity and truth, now found himself not only deprived of his pa- 
trimony and his friends, but also of his freedom. 



30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. G, 

1 1 . Henry, unmindful of his brother's former magnanimity with 
regard to him, detained him a prisoner during the remainder of 
his Hfe, which was no less than twenty-eight years ; and he died 
in the castle of Cardiff in Glamorganshire. It is even said by 
some that he was deprived of his sight by a red hot copper ba- 
sin applied to his eyes ; while his orother attempted to stifle 
the reproaches of his conscience, by founding the abbey of Read- 
mg, which was then considered a sufficient atonement for every 
degree of barbarity. 

12. Fortune now seemed to smile upon Henry, and promise 
along succession of felicity. He was in peaceable possession of 
two powerful states, and had a son who was acknowi edged indis- 
puted heir, arrived at his eighteenth year, whom he loved most 
tenderly. His daughter, Matilda, was also married to the em- 
peror Henry V. of Germany, and she had been sent to that court 
while yet but eight ye-dva old, for her education. 

13. All his prospects, however, were at once clouded by un- 
foreseen accidents, which tinctured his remaining years v/ith mi- 
sery. The king, from the ihcility with which he usurped the 
crown, dreading that his family might be su])verted with the same 
ease, took care to have his son recognized as his successor by 
the states of England, and carried him over to Normandy to re- 
ceive the homage of the barons of that duchy. 

14. After performing this requisite ceremony, Henry, return- 
ing triumphantly to England, brought with him a numerous reti- 
nue of the chief nobihty,' who seemed to share in his successes. 
In one of the vessels of the fleet, his son and several young 
noblemen, the companions of his pleasures, went together, to 
render the passage more agreeable. The king set sail from 
Barflcur, and was soon carried by a fair wind out of sight of land. 

15. The prince v/as detained by some accident ,* and his sail- 
ors, as well as their captain, Fitz Stephen, having spentthe mter- 
val in drinking, became so disordered, that they ran the ship up- 
on a rock, and immediately it was dashed to pieces. The prince 
was put into a boat, and might have escaped, had he not been 
called back by the cries of Maude, his natural sister. 

16. He was at iirst conveyed out of danger himselt',bnE could 
not leave a person so dear to perish without an effort to save 
hf'S. He, therefore, prevailed upon the sailors to row back and 
take her in. The approach of the boat giving several others 
who had been left on the wreck, the hopes of saving their lives, 
numbers leaped in, and the whole went to the bottom. 

17. Above an hundred and forty young noblemen, of the prin- 
cipal families of England and Normandy, were lost on this occa- 
sion. A butcher of Rouen was the only person on board that 
escaped : he clung to the mast, and was taken up the next mora- 
ing by some fishermen. 



Chap. 7. STEPHEN. 31 

18. Fitz Stephen, the captain, while the butcher was thus 
buffeting the waves for his life, swam up to him and inquired if 
the prince was yet living ; when being told that he had perished, 
then I will not outlive him, said the captain, and immediately 
sunk to the bottom. The shrieks of those unfortunate people 
were heard from the shore, and the noise even reached the 
king's ship, but the cause was then unknown. 

19. Henry entertained hopes for some days that his son had 
put into some distant port of England ; but when certain intelli- 
gence of the calamity was brought him, he fainted away, and 
was never seen to smile from that moment to the day of his death, 
which followed some time after at St. Dennis, a little town in 
Normandy, from eating too plentifully of lampreys, a dish he was 
particularly fond of He died in the sixty-seventh year of his 
age, and thirty-fifth of his reign, leaving by wdl, his daughter 
Matjlda heiress of all his dominions. 



CHAPTER VH.— Stephen. 

1. No sooner was the king known to be dead, than Stephen, 
the son of Adela, the king's sister, and the count of Blois, con- 
scious of his own power and influence, resolved to secure to him- 
self the possession of what he so long desired. Pie immediate- 
ly hastened from Normandy, and arriving at London, was imme- 
diately saluted king by all the lower ranks of people. 

2. Being thus secure of the people, his next step was to gain 
over the clergy : and for that purpose his brother, the bishop 
of Winchester, exerted all his influence among them with good 
success. Thus was Stephen made kin^, by one of those speedy 
revolutions which ever mark the barbarity of a slate in which 
they are customary. 

3. The first acts of an usurper are always popular : Stephen, 
in order to secure his tottering throne, passed a charter, grant- 
ing several privileges to the diflerent orders of the state. To 
the nobility, a permission to hunt in their own forests ; to the 
clergy, a speedy filling of all vacant benefices ; and to the peo- 
ple, a restoration of the laws of Edward the Confessor. To fix 
himself still more securely, he took possession of the royal trea- 
sures at Winchester, and had his title ratified by the pope with a 
part of the money. 

4. It was not long however, that Matilda delayed a=?er(ing 
her claim to the crown. She landed upon the coast of Sussex, 
assisted by Robert earl of Gloucester, natural son to the late 
king. The whole of Matilda's retinue, upon this occasion, 
amounted to no more than a hundred and forty knights, who im 



32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 7. 

mediately took possession of Arundel castle ; but the nature of 
her claims soon increased the number of her partizans, and her 
forces every day seemed to gain ground upon those of her an- 
tagonist. 

6. Meantime Stephen, being assured of her arrival, flevi^ to be- 
seige Arundel, where she had taken refuge, and where she was 
protected by the queen dowager, who secretly favoured her 
pretensions. This fortress was too feeble to promise a long de- 
fence ; and would have been soon taken had it not been repre- 
seHted to the king, that as it was a castle belonging to the queen 
dowager, it would be an infringement on the respect due to her, 
to attempt taking it by force. 

6. There was a spirit of generosity mixed with the rudeness 
of the times, that unaccountably prevailed in many transactions ; 
Stephen permitted Malilda to come forth in safety, and had her 
conveyed with security to Bristol, another fortress, equally 
strong with that from whence he permitted her to retire. 

7. It would be tedious to relate the various skirmishes on 
either side, in pursuance of their respective pretensions ; it 
will suffice to say that Matilda's forces increased every day, while 
her antagonist seemed every hour to become weaker, and a vic- 
tory gained by the queen threw Stephen from the throne, and 
exalted Matilda in his room. Matilda v/as crowned at Winches- 
ter with ail imaginable solemnity. 

8. Matilda however, was unfit for governmenjt. She affected 
to treat the nobility with a degree of disdain, to which they had 
long beej unaccustomed ; so that this tickle nation once more 
began to pity their deposed king, and to repent the steps they 
had taken in her favour. 

9. The bishop of Winchester was not remiss in fomenting 
these discontents ; and when he found the people ripe for a tu- 
mult, detached a party of his friends and vassals to block up the 
city of London, where the queen then resided. At the same 
time measures v/ere taken to instigate the Londoners to a revolt, 
and to seize her person. 

10. Matilda having timely notice of this conspiracy fled to 
Winchester, whither the bishop, still her secret enemy, follow- 
ed her, watching an opportunity to ruin her cause. His party 
was soon sufficiently strong to bid the queen open defiance, and 
to besiege her in the very place v.here she first received his 
benediction. 

11. There she continued for some time, but the town being 
pressed by famine she was obliged to escape, while her brothei', 
the earl of Gloucester, endeavouring to follow, was taken pri- 
soner, and exchanged for Stephen who still continued a captive. 

12. Thus a sudden revolution once more took place ; Matilda 



f Chap. 



8. HENRY ir. 33 

was deposed, and obliged to seek for safety in Oxford. Stephen 
was again recognized as king, and taken i'rom his dungeon to be 
placed on the throne ! 

13. But he was now to enter the lists with a new opposer, who 
was every day coming to maturity, and growing more formidable. 
This was Henry, the son of Matilda, who had now reached his 
sixteenth year ; and gave the greatest hopes of being one day a 
valiant leader, and a consummate politician. 

14. With the wishes of the people in his favour, young Henry 
was resolved to reclaim his hereditary kingdom, and to dispute 
once more Stephen's usurped pretensions, and accordingly made 
an invasion on England, where he was immediately joined by al- 
most all the barons of the kingdom. 

15. In the mean time, Stephen, alarmed at the power and 
popularity of his young rival, tried every method to anticipate 
the purpose of his invasion ; but finding it impossible to turn the 
torrent, was obliged to have recourse to treaty. 

16. It was therefore agreed by all parties, that Stephen should 
reign during his life, and that justice should be administered in 
his name. That Henry should, on Stephen's death, succeed to 
the kingdom ; and William, Stephen's son, should inherit Bou- 
logne and his patrimonial estate. 

17. After all the barons had sworn to this treaty, which filled 
the whole kingdom with joy, Henry evacuated England, and 
Stephen returned to the peaceable enjoyment of his throne. 
His reign, however, was soon after terminated by his death, 
which happened about a year after the treaty, at Canterbury, 
where he was interred. 



CHAPTER VIII.— Henry II. 

1. The first act of Henry's government gaA^e the people a 
happy omen of his future wise administration. Conscious of his 
power, he began to correct those abuses, and to resume those 
privileges, which had been extorted from the weakness, or the 
credulity of his predecessors. 

2. He immediately dismissed those mercenary soldiers, who 
had committed infinite disorders in the nation. He resumed man}* 
of those benefactions, which had been made to churches and mo- 
nasteries in the former reigns. He gave charters to several 
towns, by which the citizens claimed their freedom and privi 
leges, independent of any superior but himself These charters 
are the ground work of English liberty. 

3. The struggles which had before this time been, whether 
the king, or tlie baronS, or the clergy, should be despotic over 

B 2 



34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 8. 

the people, now began to assume a new aspect ; and a fourth 
order, namety, that of the more opulent of the people, began to 
claim a share in administration. Thus was the feudal govern- 
ment at first impaired, and liberty began to be more equally dif- 
fused throughout the nation. 

4. Henry being thus become the most powerful prince of his 
age, the undisputed monarch of England, possessed of more than 
a third of France, and having humbled the barons, that would 
circumscribe his power, he might naturally be expected to rergn 
with very little opposition for the future ; but it happened other- 
wise. He found the severest mortifications from a quarter where 
he least expected resistance. 

6. The famous Thomas a Becket, the first man of English ex- 
traction, who had, since the Norman conquest, risen to any share 
of power, was the son of a citizen of London. Having receivetl 
his early education in the schools of that metropolis he resided 
some time at Paris, and on his return became clerk in the sheriff's 
office. From that humble station he rose through the gradations 
of office, until at last he v/as made archbi.shop of Canterbury, a 
dignity second only to that of the king. 

6. No sooner was he fixed in this high station, which render- 
ed him for life the second person in the kingdom, than he endea- 
voured to retrieve the character of sanctity, which his former 
levities might have appeared to oppose. 

7. He was in his person the most mortified man that could be 
seen ; he wore sackcloth next big skin ; he changed it so seldom 
that it was filled with dirt and vermin ; his usual diet was bread, 
his drink water, which he rendered unpalatable by the mixture 
of unsavory herbs ; his back was mangled with frequent disci- 
pline ; he every day washed on his knees the feet of thirteen 
beggars. 

8. Thus pretending to sanctity, he set up for being a defendei 
of the privileges of the clergy, which had for a long time become 
enormous, and which it was Henry's aim to abridge. 

9. An opportunity soon offered that gave him a popular pre- 
text for'T)eginning liis intended reformation. A man in holy or- 
<lers had debauched the daughter of a gentleman in Worcester- 
shire, and then murdered the father to prevent the effects of his 
resentment. 

10. The atrociousness of the crime produced a spirit of indig- 
nation among the people, and the king insisted that the assassin 
should be tried by the civil magistrate. This Becket opposed, 
alleging the privileges of the church. 

11. In order to determine this matter, the king summoned a 
general council of the nobility and prelates at Clarendon, to whom 
he submitted this great and important affair, and desired their 



Chap. 8. IIExMlY il. 35 

concurrence. These councils seem at that time convened, ra- 
ther to give authenticity to the king's decrees, than to enact laws 
that were to bind their posterity. 

12. A number of regulations were there drawn up, which were 
afterwards well known under the title of the constitutions of Cla- 
rendon, and were then voted without opposition. 

13. By these regulations, it was enacted, that clergymen ac- 
cused of any crime should be tried in the civil courts ; that lay- 
men should not be tried in the spiritual courts, except by legal 
and reputable witnesses. 

14. These, with some others of less consequence, or implied 
in the above, to the number of sixteen, were readily subscribed 
by all the bishops present ; Becket himself, who at first showed 
some reluctance, added his name to the number. But Alexan- 
der, who was then pope, condemned then:: in the strongest terms, 
abrogated, annulled, and rejected them. 

15. This produced a contest between the king and Becket, 
who having attained the highest honours the monarch could be- 
stow, took part with bis holine;?s. 

16. In the midst of this dispute, Becket, with an intrepidity 
peculiar to himself, arraying himself in his episcopal vestments, 
and with a cross in his hand, went forwiird to the king's palace, 
and entering the royal apartments sat down, holding up the cross 
as his banner of protection. 

17. There he put himself, in the most solemn manner, under 
the protection of the supreme pontiff; and upon being refused^ 
permission to leave the kingdom, he secretly withdrew in dis- 
guise, and at last found means to cross over to the continent. 

18. The intrepidity of Becket, joined to his apparent sanctity, 
gained him a very favourable reception upon the continent, both 
from the people and their governors. 

19. The pope and he were not remiss to retort their fnlmma- 
tions, and to shake the very foundation of tkc king's authority. 
Becket compared himself to Christ, who had been condemned 
by a lay tribunal, and who was crucified anew in the present op- 
pressions under which the ciiurch laboured. 

20. But he <:lid not rest in complaints only. He issued out a 
censure, excommunicating the king's chief ministers by name, all 
that were concerned in sequestering the revenues of his see, and 
all who obeyed or favoured the constitutions of Clarendon. 

21. Frequent attempts, indeed, were made towards an accom-. 
modation ; but the mutual jealousies that each bore to the other 
and their anxiety not to lose the least advantage in the negocia 
tion, often protracted this desirable treat}'. 

22. At length, however, the mutual aim of both made a recon- 
ciliation nececoary : but nothin.;^ could exceed the insolence with 



3G HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 8. 

which Becket conducted himself upon his first landing in England. 
Instead of retiring quietly to his diocess, with that modesty which 
became a man just pardoned by his king, he made a progress 
through Kent, in all the splendour and magnificence of a sove- 
reign pontiff. As he approached Southwark, the clergy, the laity, 
men of all ranks and ages, came forth to meet him, and celebrat- 
ed his triumphal entry with hymns of joy. 

23. Thus, confident of the voice and the hearts of the people, 
he began to launch forth his thunders against those who had been 
his former opposers. The archbishop of York, who had crown- 
ed Henry's eldest son in his absence, was the first against whom 
he denounced sentence of suspension. The bishops of London 
and Salisbury he actually excommunicated. One man he excom- 
municated for having spoken against him ; and another for hav- 
ing cut off the tail of one of his horses. 

24. Henry was then in Normandy, while the primate was thus 
triumphantly parading through the kingdom ; and it was not 
without the utmost indignation that he received information of 
his turbulent insolence. 

25. When the suspended and excommunicated prelates ar- 
rived with their complaints, his anger knew no bounds. He 
broke forth into the most acrimonious expressions against that 
arrogant churchman, whom he had raised from the lowest sta- 
tion, to be the plague of his life, and the continual disturber of 
his government. 

26. The archbishap of York remarked to him, that so long as 
Becket lived, he could never expect to enjoy peace or tranquil- 
lity ; and the king himself burst out into an exclamation, that he 
had no friends about him, or he would not so long have been ex- 
posed to the insults of that ungrateful hypocrite. 

27. These words excited the attention of the whole court; 
and armed four of his most resolute attendants to gratify their 
monarch's . secret inchnations. The conspirators being joined 
by some assistants at the place of their meeting, proceeded to Can- 
terbury with all that haste their bloody intentions required. 

28. Advancing directly to Becket's house, and entering his 
apartment, they reproached him very fiercely for the rashness 
and the insolence of his conduct. During their altercation, the 
time approached for Becket to assist at vespers, whither he went 
unguarded, the conspirators following and preparing for their 
attempt. 

29. As soon as he had reached the altar, where it is just to 
think he aspired at the glory of martyrdom, they all fell upon 
him ; and having cloven his head with repeated blows, he drop! 
down dead before the altar of St. Benedict, which was besmear- 
ed with his blood and brains 



Cliap. 8. HENRY II. 37 

30. Nothing could exceed the king's consternation upon re- 
reiving the first news of this prelate's catastrophe. He was in- 
stantly sensible that the murder would be ultimately imputed to 
him ; and at length, in order to divert the minds of the people 
to a different object, he undertook an expedition against Ireland. 

31. Ireland was at that time in pretty much the same situa- 
tion that England had been after the first invasion of the Saxons. 
They had been early converted to Christianity, and, for three or 
four centuries after, possessed a very large proportion of the 
learning of the times. Being undisturbed by foreign invasions, 
and perhaps too poor to invite the rapacity of conquerors, they 
enjoyed a peaceful life, which they gave up to piety, and such 
learning as was then thought necessary to promote it. 

32. Of their learning, their arts, their piety, and even their 
polished manners, too many monuments re-.nain even to this 
day for us to make the least doubt concerning them ; but it is 
equally true, that in tim.e they fell from these advantages ; and 
their degenerate posterity, at the period we are now speaking 
of, were wrapt in the darkest barbarity. 

33. At the time when Kenry first planned the invasion of the 
island, it was divided into five principalities, namely, Leinster, 
Meath, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught, each governed by its 
respective monarch. 

34. As it had been usual for one or other of those to take the 
lead in their wars, he was denominated sole monarch of the 
kingdom, and possessed of a power resembling that of the early 
Saxon mouarchs in England. 

36. Roderick O'Conner, king of ConnaiTght, was then ad- 
vanced to this dignity, and Dermot Mac Morrough was king of 
Leinster. This last named prince, a weak, licentious tyrant, had 
carried off and ravished the daughter of the king of Meath, who, 
being strengthened by the alliance of the king of Connaught, in- 
vaded the ravisher's dominions, and expelled him from his king- 
dom, 

36. This prince, thus justly punished, had recourse to Henry, 
who was at that time at Guienne, and offered to hold his kingdom 
of the English crown, in case he recovered it by the king's as- 
sistance. Henry readily accepted the offer ; but being at that 
time embarrassed by nearer interests, he only gave Dermot let- 
ters patent, by which he empowered all his subjects to aid the 
Irish prince in the recovery of his dominions. 

37. Dermot relying on this authoriiy, returned to Bristol, 
where after some difficulty, he formed a treaty with Richard, sur- 
named Strongbow, earl of Pembroke, who agreed to reinstate 
him in his dominions, upon condition of his being married to his 
daughter Eva, and declared heir of all his territory. 



38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 8. 

38. Being thus assured of assistance, he returned privately to 
Ireland, and concealed himself during the winter in the monas- 
tery of Ferns, which he had founded. Robert Fitzstephens was 
the first knight who was able the ensuing spring to fuliil his en- 
gagements, by landing with a hundred and thirty knights, sixty 
esquires, and three hundred archers. 

39. They were soon after joined by Maurice Pendergast, who 
about the same time brought over ten knights and sixty archers ; 
and with this small body of forces they resolved on besieging 
Wexford, which was to be theirs by treaty. 

40. This town Avas quickly reduced ; and the adventurers be- 
ing reinforced b}^ another body of men, to the amount of a hun- 
dred and fifty, under the command of Maurice Fitzgerald, com- 
posed an army that struck the barbarous natives v/ith awe. 

41. Ftoderick, the chief monarch of the Island, ventured to 
oppose them, but he was defeated ; and soon after the prince of 
Ossory was obliged to submit, and gave hostages for his future 
conducti 

42. DermoL being thus reinstated in his hereditary dominions, 
soon began to conceive hopes of extending the limits of his pow- 
er, and making himself master of Ireland. With these views, 
he endeavoured to expedite Strongbow, who, being personally 
prohibited by the king, was not yet come over. 

43. Dermot tried to inflame his junbition by the glory of the 
conquest, and his avarice by the advantages it would procure, 
lie expatiated on the cowardice of the natives, and the certainty 
of his success. Strongbow first sent over Raymond, one of his 
retinue, with ten knights and seventy archers ; and receiving 
permission shortly after for himself, he landed with two hun- 
dred horse, and a hundred archers. 

44. All these English forces now joined together became ir- 
resistible ; and though the whole number did not amount to a 
thousand, yet such was the barbarous state of the natives that 
they were every where put to the route. The city of Water- 
ford quickly surrendered ^ Dublin was taken by assault ; and 
Strongbow, soon after marrying Eva, according to treaty, became 
master of the kingdom of Leinster upon Dermot's decease. 

45. The island being thus in a manner wholly subdued, for 
nothing v/as capable of opposing the further progress of the En 
glish arms, Henry became willing to share in person those ho 
iiours whicli the adventurers had already secured. 

46. He therefore, shortly after landed in Ireland, at the head 
of five hundred knights and some soldiers ; not so much to con- 
quer a disputed territory, as to take possession of a subjected 
kingdom. 

47. Thus after a triHiag effort, in wJiich very little money was 



Chap. 8. HENRY II. 39 

expended, and little blood shed, that beautiful island became an 
appendage to the English crown, and as such it has ever since 
continued with unshaken fidelity. 

48. The joy which this conquest diiTused was very «jreat ; but 
troubles of a domestic nature served to render the remaining part 
of Henry's life a scene of turbulence and disquietude. 

49. Among the few vices ascribed to this monarch, unhmited 
gallantry was one. Queen Eleanor, whom he had married from 
motives of ambition, and who had been divorced from her former 
ro3'al consort for her incontinence, was long become disagreeable 
to Henry ; and he sought in others those satisfactions he could 
not find in her. 

50. Among the number of his mistresses, Rosamond Chfibrd, 
better known by the name of Fair Rosamond, whose personal 
charms and whose death made so conspicuous a figure in the ro- 
mances and the ballads of the times, was the most remarkable. 
She is said to have been the most beautiful woman that was ever 
seen in England, and Henry loved her with a long and faithful 
attachment. 

61. In order to secure her from the resentment of his queen, 
who, from having been formerly incontinent herselt^, now became 
lealous of his incontinence, he concealed her in a labyrinth in 
Woodstock park, where he passed in her company his hours of 
vacancy and pleasure. 

62. Hov/ long this intercourse continued is not told us, but it 
was not so closely concealed but that it came to the queen's 
knowledge, who, as the accounts add, being guided by a clue of 
silk to her fair rival's retreat, obliged her, by holding a drawn 
dagger to her breast, to swallow poison. 

53. Whatever may be the veracity of this story, certain it is, 
that this haughty woman, though formerly offensive hy her own 
gallantries, was now no less so by her jealousy, and she it was 
who first sowed the seeds of dissension betv/een the king and his 
children. 

64. Young Henry, the king's eldest son, was taught to believe 
himself injured, when upon being crowned as a partner in the 
kingdom, be was not admitted into a share of the administration. 
His discontents were shared by his brothers Geoffry and Rich- 
ard, whom the queen pursuaded to assert their title to the terri- 
tories assigned them. 

66. Queen Eleanor herself was meditating an escape to the 
court of France, whither her sons had retired, and had put on 
man's apparel for that purpose, when she was seized by the king's 
order, and put into confinement. 

66. Thus Henry saw all his long perspective of future happi" 
ness totally clouded, hi? sons scarce yet arrived at manhood, ea 



40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. C 

ger to share the spoils of their father's possessions ; his queen 
warmly encouraging those undutiful princes in their rebellion, 
and potentates in Europe not ashamed to lend them assistance to 
support their pretensions. 

67. It was not long before the young princes had sufficient in- 
fluence upon the continent to raise a powerful confederacy in 
their favour. 

58. Henry, therefore, knov/ing the influence of superstition 
over the minds of the people, and perhaps apprehensive that a 
part of his troubles arose from the displeasure of heaven, resolv- 
ed to do penance at the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury, for 
that was the name given to Becket upon his canonization. 

59. As soon as he came within sight of the church of Canter 
bury, he alighted from his horse, he walked barefoot towards 
the town, and prostrated himself before the shrine of the saint. 
Next day he received absolution, and departing for London, was 
acquainted with the agreeable news of a victory over the Scots, 
obtained on the very day of his absolution. 

60. From that time Henry's affairs began to wear a better as- 
pect ; the barons who had revolted, or were preparing to revolt, 
made instant submission, they delivered up their castles to the 
victor, and England, in a few weeks, was restored to perfect tran- 
quillity. Young Henry, who was ready to enibark with a large 
army, to second the efforts of the English insurgents, finding all 
disturbances quieted at home, abandoned all thoughts of the ex- 
pedition. 

61. This prince died soon after, in the twenty sixth year of 
his age, of a fever, at Martell, not without the deepest remorse 
for his undutiful conduct towards his father. 

62. As this prince left no posterity, Richard was become heir 
in his room ; and he soon discovered the same ardent ambition 
that had misled his elder brother. 

63. A crusade having been once more projected, Richard, who 
had long wished to have the glory of such an expedition to him- 
self, and who could not bear to have even his father a partner in 
his victories, entered into a confederacy with the king of France, 
who promised to confirm him in those wishes at which he so ar- 
dently aspired. By this, Henry found himself obliged to give up 
all hopes of taking the cross, and compelled to enter upon a war 
with France, and his eldest son, who were unnaturally leagued 
against him. 

64. At last, however, a treaty was concluded, in which he was 
obliged to submit to many mortifying concessions. But more go 
when upon demanding a list of the barons, that it was stipulated 
he should pardon, he found his son John, his favourite chikK 
ijnong the number 



Chap. ^. KJCHARD r. 41 

65. He had long borne an infirm state of body with a calm re. 
signation ; he had seen his children rebel without much emotion ; 
but when he saw that child, whose interest always lay next his 
heart, among the number of those who were in rebellion against 
him, he could no longer contain his indignation. 

66. He broke out into expressions of the utmost despair, curs- 
ed the day in which he had received his miserable being, and 
bestowed on his ungrateful children a malediction, which he ne- 
ver after could be prevailed upon to retract. The more his heart 
was disposed to friendship and attention, the more he resented 
this barbarous return, and now, not having one corner in his heart 
where he could look for comfort, or fly for refuge from his con- 
flicting passions, he lost all his former vivacitj*. 

67. A lingering fever, caused by a broken heart, soon after 
terminated his life and his miseries. He died at the castle of 
Chinon, near Saumur, in the iifty-eighth year of his age, and the 
thirty-fifth of his reign ; in the course of which he displayed all 
the abilities of a politician, all the sagacity of a legislator, and all 
the magnanimity of a hero. 



CHAPTER IX. — Richard I. surnamed Coeur de Lion. 

1. Richard, upon his accession to the throne, was still inflam- 
ed with the desire of going upon the crusade, and at length the 
king having got together a sufficient supply for his undertaking, 
having even sold his superiority over the kingdom of Scotland, 
which had been acquired in the last reign, for a moderate sum, 
he set out for the holy land, whither he was impelled by repeat- 
ed messages from the king of France, who was ready to embark 
in the same enterprise. 

2. The first place of rendezvous for the two armies of Eng- 
land and France, was the plain of Verely, on the borders of Bur- 
gundy, where, when Richard and Philip ai rived, they found 
their armies amounting to a hundred thousand fighting men. 

3. Here the French prince and the English entered into the 
most solemn engagements of mutual support ; and having deter- 
mined to conduct their armies to the holy land by sea, they were 
obliged by stress of weather, to take shelter in Messina, the capi- 
tal of Sicily, where they were detained during the whole winter. 

4. Richard took up his quarters in the suburbs, and possessed 
himself of a small fort, which commanded the harbour. Philip 
quartered his troops in the town and lived upon good terms with 
the Sicilian king. 

6. Many were the mistrusts, and the mutual reconciliations 
between these twomonarchs, which were very probably inflam- 



42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 9. 

ed by the Sicilian king's endeavours. At length, however, hav- 
ing settled all controversies, they set sail for the holy land, where 
the French arrived long before the English. 

6. Upon the arrival of the English army in Palestine, how- 
ever, fortune was seen to declare openly in favour of the common 
cause. The French and English princes seemed to forget their 
secret jealousies, and to act in concert. But shortly after, Philip, 
from the bad state of his health, returned to France, leaving Rich- 
ard ten thousand of his troops, under the command of the Duke 
of Burgundy. 

7. Richard, being now left the sole conductor of the war, went 
on from victory to victory. The christian adventurers, under 
his command, determined to besiege the renowned city of Asca- 
lon, in order to prepare the vv'ay for attacking Jerusalem with 
greater advantage. 

8. Saladin, the most heroic of the Saracen monarchs, was re- 
solved to dispute their march, and placed himself upon a road 
with an army of three hundred thousand men. This was a day 
equal to Richard's wishes, this an enemy worthy his highest am- 
bition. The English crusaders were victorious ; Richard, when 
the wings of his army were defeated led on the main body in 
person, and restored the battle. 

9. The Saracens fled in the utmost confusion ; and no less 
than forty thour>and o/ their number perished in the field of bat- 
tle. Ascalon soon surrendered after this victory ; other cities 
of less note followed the example, and Richard was at last able 
to advance within sight of Jerusalem, the object of his long and 
ardent expectation. 

10. But just at this glorious juncture, his ambition was to suf- 
fer a total overthrow ; upon reviewing his forces, and consider- 
ing his abilities to prosecute the siege, he found that his array 
was so wasted with famine, fatigue, and even with victory, that 
they were neither able nor willing to second the views of their 
commander, 

11. It appeared, therefore, absolutely necessary, to come to 
an accommodation with Saladin ; and a truce for three years was 
accordingly concluded ; in which it was agreed, that the sea port 
towns of Palestine should remain in the hands of the christians ; 
and that all of that religion should be permitted to make their 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem in perfect security! 

1 2. Richard having thus concluded his expedition with more 
glory than advantage, began to think of returning home ; but be- 
ing obliged to take the road through Germany in the habit of a 
pilgrim, he was arrested by Leopold duke of Austria, who com- 
manded him to be imprisoned and loaded with shackles, to the 
tlisgrace of honour and humanity 



CPjap. 9. RICHARD I. 43 

13. The emperor soon after required the prisoner to be de- 
livered up to him, and stipulated a large sum of money, to the 
duke, as a reward for his service. Thus the king of England, 
who had long filled the world with his fame, was basely thrown 
into a dungeon and loaded with irons, by those who expected to 
reap a sordid advantage from his misfortunes. 

14. It was a long time before his subjects in England knew 
what was become of their beloved monarch ; so little intercourse 
was there between differ<f^'nt nations at that time, that this disco- 
very is said by some to have been made by a poor French min- 
strel, who playing upon his harp near the fortress in which Rich- 
ard was confined, a tune which he knew that unhappy monarch 
was fond of, he was answered by the king from within, who with 
his harp played the same tune, and thus discovered the place of 
his confinement. 

15. However, the English at length prevailed upon this bar- 
barous monarch, who nov/ saw that he could no longer detain his 
prisoner, to listen to terms of accommodation. A ransom was 
agreed upon, which amounted to a hundred and fifty thousand 
marks, or about three hundred tliousand pounds of our money ; 
upon the payment of which Richard was once more restored to 
his subjects. 

16. Nothing could exceed the joy of the English upon seeing 
Iheir monarch return, after all his achievements and sufferings. 
He made his entry into London in triumph ; and such was the 
profusion of wealth shown by the citizens, that the German lords 
who attended him, were heard to say, that if the emperor had 
known of their affluence, he would not so easily have parted with 
their king. 

1 7. He soon after ordered himself to be crowned anew at Win- 
chester. He convoked a general council at Nottingham, at which 
he confiscated all his brother John's possessions, who had basely 
endeavoured to prolong his captivity, and gone over to the king 
of France with that intent. However, he pardoned him soon 
after with this generous remark, I wish I could as easily forget 
my brother's offences as he v/ill my pardon. 

18. Richard's death was occasioned by a singular accident. 
A vassal of the crown had taken possession of a treasure, which 
was found by one of his peasants in digging a field in France, and 
to secure the remainder, sent a part of it to the king. Richard, 
as superior lord, sensible that he had a right to the whole, insist- 
ed on its being sent him, and, upon refusal, attacked the castle 
of Chains, where he understood this treasure had been deposited. 

19. On the fourth day of the siege, as he was riding round the 
place to observe where the assault might be given with the fair- 
est probabihty of success, he was aimed at by one Betram de 



44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 10. 

Jourdon, an archer, from the castle, and pierced in the shoulder 
with an arrow. The wound was not in itself dangerous ; but 
an unskilful surgeon endeavouring to disengage the arrow from 
the flesh, so rankled the wound that it mortified, and brought on 
fatal symptoms. 

20. Richard, when he found his end approaching, made a will, 
m which he bequeathed the kingdom, with all his treasure, to 
his brother John, except a fourth part, which he distributed 
among his servants. 

21. He ordered also that the archer, who had shot him, should 
be brought into his presence, and demanded what injury he h.id 
done him that he should take away his life ? The prisoner an- 
swered with deliberate intrepidity, " You killed, with your own 
hands, my father and my two brothers, and you intended to have 
hanged me. I am now in your power, and my torments may 
give you revenge ; but I will endure them with pleasure, since 
it is my consolation that I have rid the world of a tyrant." 

22. Richard, struck with this answer, ordered the soldier to 
be presented with one hundred shillings and set at liberty ; but 
Marcade, the general, who commanded under him, like a true 
ruffian, ordered him to be flead alive, and then hanged. Rich- 
ard died in the tenth year of his reign, and the forty second of his 
age, leaving behind him only one natural son, called Philip. 



CHAPTER X.— John. 

1. John, who was readily put in possession of the English 
throne, lost no time to second his interests on the continent ; and 
his first care was to recover the revolted provinces from young 
Arthur, his nephew. But from the pride and cruelty of his tem- 
per, he soon became hateful to his subjects ; and his putting to 
death with his own hands, in prison, his nephew Arthur, who 
had a right to the crown, served to render him completely hate- 
ful. 

2. Hitherto John was rather hateful to his subjects than con- 
temptible, they rather dreaded than despised him. But he soon 
showed that he might be offended, if not without resentment at 
least with impunity. It was the f ite of this vicious prince to 
make those the enemies of himself, whom he wanted abilities to 
make the enemies of each other. 

3. The clergy had for some time acted as a community inde- 
pendent on the crown, and had their elections of each other ge- 
nerally confirmed by the pope, to whom alone they owned sub- 
jection. However the election of archbishops had for some 
time been n continual subject of dispute between the suffragan 



Chap. 10. JOHN. 45 

bishops and the Augustine monks, and botli had precedents to 
confirm their pretensions. 

4. John sided with the bishops, and sent two knights of his 
train, who were fit instruments for such a prince, to expel the 
monks from their convents, and take possession of their revenues. 

5. The pope was not displeased at these divisions, and instead 
of electing either of the persons appointed by the contending par- 
ties, he appointed Stephen Langton, as archbishop of Canterbu- 
ry. John, however, refusing to admit the man of the pope's 
choosing, the kingdom was put under an interdict. 

6. Tbts instrument of terror in the hands of the see of Rome 
«^as calculated to strike the senses, and to operate upon the su- 
perstitious minds of the people in the highest degree. By it a 
stop was immediately put to divine service, and to the adminis- 
tration of all the sacraments but baptism. The church doors 
were shut, the statues of the saints were laid on the ground, the 
dead were refused christian burial, and were thrown into ditches 
and on the highwa3^s, without the usual rites, or any funeral so- 
lemnity. 

7. No situation could be more deplorable than that of John 
upon this occasion. Furious at his indignities, jealous of his sub- 
jects, and apprehending an enemy in every face, it is said, that 
fearing a conspiracy against his life, he shut himself up a whole 
night in the castle of Nottingham, and suffered none to approach 
his person. 

8. But what was his consternation, w^hen he found that the 
pope had actually given away his kingdom to the monarch of 
France, and that the prince of that country was actually prepar- 
ing with an army to take possession of his crown. 

9. John, who, unsettled and apprehensive, scarcely knew 
where to turn, was still able to make an expiring eifort to receive 
the enemy. All hated as he was, the natural enmity between 
the French and the English, the name of King, which he still re- 
tained, and some remaining power, put him at the head of sixty 
thousand men, a sufficient number indeed, but not to be relied on, 
and with these he advanced to Dover. 

10. Europe now regarded the important preparations on both 
sides with impatience : and the decisive blow was soon expected, 
in which the church was to triumph or to be overthrown. But 
neither Philip nor John had ability equal to the pontiff by whom 
they v/ere actuated ; he appeared on this occasion too refined a 
politician for either. 

11. He only intended to make use of Phihp's power to inti- 
midate his refractory son, not to destroy him. He intimated, 
therefore, to John, by bis legate, that there was but one way to 
secure himself from impending danger, w^hich was, to put him- 



46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 10. 

self under the pope's protection, who was a merciful father, 
and still willing to receive a repentant sinner to his bosom. 

12. John was too much intimidated, by the manifest danger of 
his situation, not to embrace every means offered for his safety. 
He assented to the truth of the legate's remonstrances, and took 
an oath to perform whatever stipulations the pope should im- 
pose. 

13. Having thus sworn to the performance of an unknown 
command, the artful Italian so well managed the barons, and so 
effectually intimidated the king, that he persuaded him to take 
the most extraordinary oath in all the records of history, before 
all the people, kneeling upon his knees, and with his hands held 
up between those of the legate. 

1 4. " 1, John, by the grace of God, king of England and lord oi 
Ireland, in order to expiate my sins, from my own free will, 
and the advice of my barons, give to the church of Rome, to 
pope Innocent, and his successors, the kingdom of England and 
all other prerogatives of my crown. I will hereafter hold them 
as the pope's vassal. I will be faithful to God, to the church of 
Rome, to the pope my master, and his successors legitimately 
elected. I promise to pay him a tribute of a thousand marks 
yearly ; to wit, seven hundred for the kingdom of England, and 
three hundred for the kingdom of Ireland." 

15. Having thus done homage to the legate, and agreed to re- 
instate Langfcon in the primacy, he received the crown, which 
he had been supposed to have forfeited, while the legate tram- 
pled under his feet the tribute which John had consented to pay. 
Thus by this most scandalous concession, John once more avert- 
ed the threatened blow. 

16. In this manner, by repeated acts of cruelty, by expedi- 
ditions without effect, and humiliations without reserve, John 
was become the detestation of all mankind. 

17. The barons had been long forming a confederacj'^ against 
him ; but their union was broken, or their aims disappointed by 
various and unforeseen accidents. At length, however, they as- 
sembled a large body of men at Stamford, and from thence, elat- 
ed with their power, they marched to Brackley, about lifteen 
miles from Oxford, the place where the court then resided. 

18. John hearing of their approach, sent the archbishop of 
Canterbury, the earl of Pembroke, and others of his council, to 
know the particulars of their request, and what those liberties 
were which they so earnestly importuned him to grant. The 
barons delivered a schedule, containing the chief articles of their 
demands, and of which the former charters of Henry and Edward 
formed the ground work. 

'^ 19. No sooner were these things shown to the king, than he 



Chap. 10. JOHN. 47 

burst into a furious passion, and asked why the barons did not 
also demand his kingdom, swearing that he never would comply 
with such exorbitant demands ? But tl e confederacy was now too 
strong to fear much from the consequence of his resentment. 

20. They chose Robert Fitzwalter for their general, whom 
they dignified with the tildes of '^ Mareschal of the army of God, 
and of the holy church," and proceeded without further cere- 
mony to make war upon the king. 

21. They besieged Northampton, they took Bedford, they 
were joyfully received in London. They wrote circular letters 
to all the nobility and gentlemen who had not yet declared in 
their favour, and menaced their estates with devastation, in case 
of refusal or delay. 

22. John, struck with terror, first offered to refer all differ- 
ences to the pope alone, or to eight barons, four to be chosen by 
himself, and four b}'^ the confederates. This the barons scorn- 
fully rejected. He then assured them that he vvould submit at dis- 
cretion, and that it was his supreme pleasure to grant all their 
demands ; a conference was accordingly appointed, and all things 
adjusted for this mqst important treaty. 

23. The ground M-here the king's commissioners met the ba- 
rons was between Staines r.nd Windsor, at a place called Runi- 
mede, still held in reverence b}^ posterity, as the spot ^vhere the 
standard of freedom was first erected in England. There the 
barons appeared with a vast number of knights and warriors, on 
the fifteenth day of June, while those on thekiiiig's part, came a 
day or two after. Both sides encamped apart, like open ene- 
mies. The debates between power and precedent are general- 
ly but of short continuance. 

24. The barons, determined on carrj^ing their aims, would 
admit of few abatements ; and the king's agents being for the 
most part in their interests, few debates ensued. After some 
days, the king, with a facility that was something suspicious, sign- 
ed and sealed the charter required of him : a charter which 
continues in force to this da}^ and is the famous bulwark of Eng- 
lish liberty, which now goes by the name of Magna Charta. 

25. By this famous deed, freedom was secured to those orders 
of the kingdom that had already betm possessed of it, namely, 
to the clergy, the barons, and the gentlemen ; as for the inferior 
and the greatest part of the people, they were as yet held as 
slaves, and it was long before they could come to a participation 
of legal protection. 

26. John however could not well brook those concessions 
that were extorted from his fears, he therefore took the first op- 
portunity of denying to be in the least governed by them. This 
produced a second civil war, in which the barons were obliged 



48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. H, 

to have recourse to the king of France for assistance. Thus 
England saw nothing but a prospect of being every way undone. 

27. If John succeeded, a t3'^rannical and implacable monarch 
was to be their tormentor, if the French king should prevail, 
the country was ever after to submit to a more powerful monar- 
chy, and was to become a province of France. What neither 
human prudence could forsee, nor policy suggest, was brought 
about by a happy and unexpected event. 

28. John had assembled a considerable armj^ with a view to 
make one great effort for the crown ; at the head of a large body 
of troops, he resolved to penetrate into the heart of the king- 
dom. With these resolutions he departed from Lynn, which for 
its fidelity, he had distinguished with many marks of favour, and 
directed his route towards Lincolnshire. 

29. His road lay along the shore, which was overflowed at high 
water, but not being apprised of this, or being ignorant of the tide of 
the place, he lost all his carriages, treasure, and baggage, by its 
influx. He himself escaped with the greatest difficulty, and ar- 
rived at the abbey of Swinsteed, where his grief for the loss he 
had sustained, and the distracted state of his affairs threw him 
into a fever, which soon appeared to be fatal. 

30. Next day being unable to ride on horseback, he was car- 
ried on a litter to the castle of Seaford, and from thence remov 
ed to Newark, where after having made his will, he died in the 
iifty-first 3^ear of his age, and the eighteenth of his detested reign 



CHAPTER XL— Henry III. 

1. A CLAIM w^as, upon the death of John, made in favour of 
young Henr}^ the son of the late king, who was now but nine 
years of age. The earl of Fem])roke, a noblenr^an of great worth 
and valour, who had faithfully adhered to John in all the fluc- 
tuations of his fortune, determined to support his declining inte- 
rest, and had him solemnly crowned by the bishops of Winchester 
and Bath at Gloucester. 

2. 1 he young king was of a character the very opposite of hid 
fat-her ; as he grew up to man's estate, he was found to be gen- 
tle, merciful and humane, he appeared easy and good natured 
to his dependents, but no way formidable to his enemies. With- 
out activity or vigour, he was unfit to conduct in war ; without 
distrust or suspicion, he was imposed upon in times of peace. 

3. As weak princes are never without governing favourites, 
he first placed his affections on Hubert de Burgh, and he be- 
coming obnoxious to the people, the place was soon supplied by 
Peter de Roches, bishop of Winchester, a Poicteviu by birth, a 



aap 11. HENRY III. 49 

: man remarkable for his arbitrary coiiuact, for his courage and 
Lis abilities. 

4. Henry, in pursuance of his prelate's advice, invited over a 
great number of Poictevins and other foreigners, who having 
neither principles nor fortunes at home, were willing to adopt 
whatever schemes their employer shoukl propose. Every of- 
fice and comafiand was bestowed on these unprincipled strangers, 
whose avarice and rapacity were exceeded only by their pride 
and insolence. 

5. So unjust a partialit}^ to strangers very naturally excited 
the jealousy of the barons ; and they even ventured to assure 
the king if he did not dismiss ail foreigners from court, they 
would drive both him and them cut of the kingdom ; but their 
anger was scarce kept within bounds, when they saw a new 
swarm of these intruders come over from Giiscony with Isabella, 
the king's mother, who had been some time before married to 
count de la Marchc. 

6. To these just causes of complaint were added the king's 
unsuccessful expeditions to the continent, his total want of eco- 
nomy, and his oppressive exactions, which were but the result o\ 
the former. The kingdom, therefore, waited with gloomy reso ■ 
lution, resolving to take vengeance when the general discon- 
tent arrived at maturity. 

7. This imprudent preference, joined to a thousand other 
illegal evasions of justice, at last impelled Simon Monifort earl 
of Leicester, to attempt an innovation in the goverment, and to 
wrest the sceptre from the feeble hand that held it. 

8. This nobleman was the son of the famous general who 
commanded against the Albigenses, a set of enthusiasts that had 
been destroyed some time before in the kingdom of Savoy. He 
was married to the king's sister, and by his power and address, 
was possessed of a strong interest in the nation, having gained 
equally the affections of the gi-eat and the little. 

6. The place were the formidable confederacy which he form- 
ed first discovered itself, was in the parliament house, where the 
barons appeared in complete armour. The king upon his entry 
asked them what was their intention ; to which they submissive- 
ly replied, to make him their sovereign by confirming his pow- 
er, and to have their grievances redressed. 

10. Henry, who was ready enough to promise whatever was 
demanded, instantly assured them of his intentions to give all pos- 
sible satisfaction, and for that purpose summoned a parliament at 
Oxford, to digest a new plan of government, and to elect proper 
persons, who were to be entrusted with the chief authority. 

1 1 . This parliament, afterwards called the mad parliament, went 
expeditiously to work upon the business of reformation. Twenty- 



50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap, n 

four barons were appointed, with supreme authority, to reform 
the abuses of the state, and Leicester was placed at their head. 

12. The whole state in their hands underwent a complete al- 
teration, all its former officers were displaced, and creatures of 
the twenty-four barons were put in their room. They not only 
abridged the authority of the king, but the efficacy of parliament, 
giving up to twelve persons all parliamentary power between 
each session. Thus these insolent nobles, after having tram- 
pled upon the crown, threw prostrate all the rights of the peo- 
ple, and a vile oligarchy was on the point of being established 
for ever. 

13. The first opposition that was made to these usurpations 
was from a power, which but lately began to take place in the 
constitution. The knights of the shire, who for some time had 
begun to be regularly assembled in a separate house, now first 
perceived those grievances, and complained against them. They 
represented that their own interests and power seemed the only 
aim of all their decrees ; and they even called upon the king's 
eldest son, prince Edward, to interpose his authority, and save 
the sinking nation. 

14. Prince Edward was at this time about twenty-two years 
of age. The hopes which were conceived of his abilities and 
his integrity, rendered him an important personage in the trans- 
actions of the times, and in some measure atoned for his father's 
imbecility. He had, at a very early age, given the strongest 
proofs of courage, of wisdom, and of constancy. 

15. At first, indeed, when applied to, appearing sensible of 
what his father had suffered by levity and breach of promise, he 
refused some time to listen to the people's earnest application ; 
but being at last persuaded to concur, a parliament was called, 
in which the king resumed his former authority. 

IG. This being considered as a breach of the late convention, 
a civil war ensued, in which in a pitched battle the earl of Lei- 
cester became victorious, and the king was taken prisoner, but 
soon after exchanged for prince Edward, who was to remain as 
an hostage to ensure the punctual observance of the former 
agreement. 

17. With all these advantages, however, Leicester was not 
so entirely secure, but that he still feared the combinations of 
the foreign states against him, as well as the internal machinations 
of the royal party. In order, therefore, to secure his ill acquir- 
ed power, he was obliged to have recourse to an aid till now en- 
tirely unknown to England ; namely, that of the body of the 
people. ^ 

18. He called a parliament, where besides the barons of ha 
©wn party, and several ecclesiastics, who were not immediate 



Ciiap. 11. HENRY III. 61 

tenants of the crown, he ordered returns to 'oe made of two 
knights from every shire, and also deputies from the boroughs, 
which had been hitherto considered as too inconsiderablf to have 
a voice in legislation. 

19. This is the first confirmed outline of an English house of 
commons. The people had been gaining some consideration 
since the gradual dimunition of the force of the feudal system. 

20. This parliament, however, was found not so very comply- 
ing as he expected. Many of the barons who had hitherto 
steadfastly adhered to his party, appeared disgusted at his im- 
moderate ambition ; and many of the people, who found that a 
change of masters was not a change for happiness, began to wish 
for the re-establishment of the royal family. 

21. In this exigence, Leicester, finding himself unable to op- 
pose the concurring wishes of the nation, was resolved to make a 
merit of what he could not prevent ; and he accordingly released 
prince Edward from confinement, and had him introduced at 
Westminister hall, where his freedom was confirmed by the una- 
nimous voice of the barons. 

22. But though Leicester had all the popularity of restoring 
the prince, yet he was politic enough to keep him still guarded 
by his emissaries, who watched all his motions and frustrated 
all his aims. 

23. Wherefore the prince, upon hearing that the duke of 
Gloucester was up in arms in his cause, took an opportunity to 
escape from his guards, and put himself at the head of his party. 
A battle soon after ensued, but the earl's army having been ex- 
hausted by famine on the mountains of Wales, were but ill able 
to sustain the impetuosity of Edward's attack, who bore down up- 
on them with incredible fury. 

24. During this terrible day Leicester behaved with astonishing 
intrepedity, and kept up the spirit of the action from two 
o'clock in the afternoon till nine at night. At last his horse being 
killed under him, he was compelled to fight on foot, and though 
he demanded quarter, the adverse party refused it, with a bar^ 
barity common enough in the times we are describing. 

25. The old king, who was placed in the front of the battle, 
was soon wounded in the shoulder, and not being known by his 
friends, he was on the point of beiug killed by a soldier, but 
crying out, I am Henry of Winchester, the king, he was saved by 
a knight of the royal army. 

26. Prince Edward hearing the voice of his father, instantly 
ran to the spot where he lay, and had him conducted to a place 
of safety. The body of Leicester being found among the dead, 
was barbarously mangled by one Roger Mortimer ; and then, 
with an accumulation of inhumanity, sent to the wretched wi- 
elow, as a testimony of the royal, party'« '■nrcesa. 



52 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap, 12. 

27. This victory proved decisive, and the prince having thus 
restored peace to the kingdom, found his ajTairs so firmly es- 
tablish eJ, that he resolved upon taking the cross, v/hich was at 
that time the highest object of human ambition. 

28. In pursuance of this resolution, Edward sailed from Eng- 
land with a large army, and arrived at the camp of Lewis, the 
king of France, which lay before Tunis ; there he had the mis- 
fortune to hear of that good monarch's death before his arrival. 
The prince however no way discouraged by this event, contfinu- 
ed his voyage, and arrived at the holy land in safety. 

29. He was scarce departed upon this pious expedition, when 
the health of the old king began to decline, and he found not only 
his own constitution, but also tiiat of the state in such a danger- 
ous situation, that he wrote letters to his son, pressing him to re- 
turn with all despatch. 

30. At last, being overcome by the cares of government, and 
the infirmities of age, he ordered himself to be removed by easy 
journeys from St. Edm.und's to Westminster, and that same night 
expired, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and the tifty-sixth of 
his reign, the longest to be met with in the annals of England. 



CHAPTER Xn.— Edward L 

1. While the unfortunate Heniy was thus vainly struggling 
with the ungovernable spirit of his subjects, his son and success- 
or, Edward, was employed in the holy wars, where he revived 
the glory of the English name, and made the enemies of Christi- 
anity tremble. 

2. He was stabbed however by one of those Mahometan enthu- 
siasts, called assassins, as he was one day sitting in his lent, and 
was cured not without great dithculty. Some say that he owed 
his safety to the piety of Eleanora his wife, who sucked the poi- 
son from the v» ound, to save his life at the hazard of her own. 

3. Though the death of the late king happened while the suc- 
cessor was so far from home, yet measures had been so well taken 
that the crown was transferred with the greatest tranquillity. 

4. As Edward was now come to an undisputed throne, the opr 
posite interests were prop >rtionably feeble. The barons were 
exhausted by long mutual dissentions, the clergy were divided 
in their interests, and agreed only in one point, to hate the 
pope, who had for some time drained them with impunity ; the 
people, by some insurrections against the convents, appeared to 
hate the clergy with equal animosity. 

5. These disagreeing orders only concurred in one point, 
Isai ol esteeming and reverencing the king. Helherefore thought 



Chap. IZ EDWARD I. 63 

this the most, favourable conjuncture of uniting England m\\i 
Wales. 

6. The Welsh had for many ages enjoyed their own laws, 
languagp, customs and opinions. They were the remains of the 
ancient Britons, who had escaped the Roman and Saxon inva- 
sions, and still preserved their freedom and their country un- 
contaminated by the admission of foreign conquerors. 

7. But as they were, from their number, incapable of with- 
standing their more powerful neighbours on the plain, their chief 
defence lay in their inaccessible mountains, those natural bul- 
warks of the country. 

8. Whenever England was distressed by factions at home, or 
its forces called off to war abroad, the Welsh made it a constant 
practise to pour in their irre«:ular troops, and lay the open coun- 
try waste wherever they came. 

9. Nothing could he more pernicious to a country than seve- 
ral neighbouring independent principalities, under different com- 
manders, and pursuing different interests ; the mutual jealousies 
of such were sure to harass the people, and wherever victory was 
purchased, it was always at the expense of the general welfare. 

10. Sensible of this, Edv/ard had lona; wished to reduce that 
incursive people, and had ordered Lewellyn to do homage for 
his territories ; which summons the Welsh prince refused to obe}^, 
unless the king's own son should be delivered as an hostage for 
his safe return. 

11. The king was not displeased at this refusal, as it served 
to gi\re him a pretext for his intended invasion. He, therefore, 
levied an army against Lewellyn, and marched into his country 
with certain assurance of success. 

12. Upon the approach of Edward, the Welsh prince took 
refuge among the inaccessible mountains of Snov/don, and there 
resolved to maintain his ground without trusting to the chance of 
a battle. These were the steep retreats, that had for many ages 
defended his ancestors against all the attempts of the Norman and 
Saxon conquerors. 

13. But Edward, equally vigorous and cautious, having explor- 
ed every part of his way, pierced into the very centre of Le- 
wellyn's territories, and approached the Welsh army in its last 
retreats. Here after extorting submission from the Welsh prince, 
the king returned. 

14. But an idle prophesy, in which it was foretold by Merhn, 
that Lewellyn was to be the restorer of Brutus's empire in Bri- 
tain, was an inducement suthciently strong to pursuade this prince 
to revolt once more, and hazard a decisive battle against the 
Enghsh. 

15. With this view he marched into Radnorshire, and passing 



64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 12, 

the river Wey, his troops were surprised and defeated by Ed- 
ward Mortimer, while he himself was absent from his army, upon 
a conference with some of the barons of that country. 

16. Upon his return, seeing the dreadful situation of his af- 
fairs, he ran desperately into the midst of the enemy, and quick- 
ly found that death he so ardently sought for. David, the bro- 
ther of this unfortunate prince, soon after fell in the same cause ; 
and with him expired the government, and the distinction of the 
Welsh nation. 

17. It was soon after united to the kingdom of England, made 
a principality, and given to the eldest son of the crown. Foreign 
conquests might add to the glory, but this added to the fehcity of 
the kingdom. The Welsh were now blended with the conquer- 
ors ; and in the revolution of a few ages, all the national animo- 
sity was entirely forgotten. 

18. Soon after, the death of Margaret queen of Scotland, gave 
him hopes of adding also Scotland to his dominions. The death 
of this princess produced a most ardent dispute about the suc- 
cession to the Scottish throne, it being claimed by no less than 
twelve competitors. 

19. The claims, however, of all the other candidates were re- 
duced to three ; these were descendants of the earl of Hunting- 
ton by three daughters ; John Hastings, who claimed in right of 
his mother, as one of the co-heiresses of the crown ; John Baliol, 
who alleged his right, as being descended from the eldest daugh- 
ter, who was his grand-mother ; and Robert Bruce, who was 
the actual son of the second daughter. 

20. This dispute being referred to Edv/ard's decision, with a 
strong degree of assurance, he claimed the crown for himself, 
and appointed John Baliol his deputy. 

21. Baliol being thus placed upon the Scottish throne, less as 
a king than a vassal, Edward's first step was sufficient to convince 
the people of his intentions to stretch the prerogative to the ut- 
most. 

22. Upon the most frivolous pretences, he sent six different 
summonses for Baliol to appear in London at different times in 
one year ; so that the poor Scottish king soon perceived that he 
was possessed of the name onl}^ but not the authority of a sove- 
reign. WiUing, therefore, to shake off the yoke of so trouble- 
some a master, Baliol revolted, and procured the pope's absolu- 
tion from his former oaths of homage. 

23. But no power the Scots could bring into the field was able 
to withstand the victorious army of Edward. He overthrew their 
forces in many engagements, and thus becoming undisputed mas- 
ter of the kingdom, he took every precaution to secure his title, 
and to abolish those distinctio'^s, which might be apt to keep the 



Chap. 12. EDWARD I. 66 

nation in its foimer independence. Baliol was carried a prison- 
er to London, and he carefully destroyed all records and monu- 
ments of antiquity that inspired the Scots with a spirit of national 
pride. 

24. These expeditions, however, terminated rather in glory 
than advantage ; the expences which were requisite for carry- 
ing on the war, were only burthensome to the king, but even in 
the event, threatened to shake him from his throne. 

26. In order at first to set the great machine in movement, he 
raised considerable supplies by means of his parliament ; and 
that august body was then first modelled by him into the form in 
which it continues to this day. 

26. As a great part of the property of the kingdom was, by 
the introduction of commerce, and the improvement of agricul- 
ture, transferred from the barons to the lower classes of the peo- 
ple, so their consent was thought necessary for raising any con- 
siderable supplies. 

27. For this reason he issued writs to the sheriffs enjoining 
them to send to parliament along with the knights of the shire, 
(as in the former reign,) two deputies from each borough with- 
in their county ; and these provided with sufficient powers from 
their constituents, to grant such demands as they should think 
reasonable for the safety of the state. 

28. One of their first efforts, therefore, was to oblige the king's 
council to sign the Magna Charta, and to add a clause, t-. secure 
the nation for ever against all impositions and taxes, without the 
consent of parhament. 

29. This the king's council (for Edward was at that time in 
Flanders) readily agreed to sign ; and the king himself, when it 
was sent over to him, after some hesitation, thought proper to 
do the same. 

30. These concessions he again confirmed upon his return ; 
and though it is probable he was averse to granting them, yet 
he was at length brought to give a plenary consent to all the ar- 
ticles that were demanded of him. 

31. Thus, after the contest of an age, the Magna Charta was 
finally established ; nor was it the least circumstance in its fa- 
vour, that its confirmation was procured from one of the great- 
est and boldest princes that ever SAvayed the English sceptre. 

32. In the mean time, Wilham Wallace, so celebrated in Scot- 
tish story, attempted to rescue Scotland from the English yoke. 
He was younger son of a gentleman, who lived in the western 
part of the kingdom. He was a man of gigantic stature, incredi- 
ble strength, and amazing intrepidity ; eagerly desirous of inde- 
pendence, and possessed with the most disinterested spirit of pa- 
triotism. 



66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. U. 

33. To this man had resorted all those who were ohnoxious 
to the English government ; the proud, the hold, the criminal, 
and ihe amhitious. These bred among dangers and harflships 
themselves, could not forbear admiring in their leader a degree 
of patience, under fatigue and famine, which they supposed be- 
yond the power of human nature to endure ; he soon, therefore, 
became the principal object of their affection and theii esteem. 

34. His first exploits were confined to petty ravages, and oc- 
casional attacks upon the English ; but he soon overthrew the 
English armies and slew their generals. 

35. Edward, who had been over in Flanders, while these mis- 
fortunes happened in England, hastened back with impatience to 
restore his authority, and secure his former conquests. He 
quickly levied the whole force of his dominions ; and at the head 
of a hundred thousand men, directed his march to the north, fully 
resolved to take vengeance upon the Scots for their late defection. 

36. A battle was fought at Falkirk, in which Edward gained 
a complete victory, leaving twelve thousand of the Scots, or, m 
some vAll iiave it, fifty thousand dead upon the field, while the 
English had not a hundred slain. 

37. A blow so dreadful had not as yet entirely crushed the spi- 
rit of the Scottish nation ; and after a short interval they began 
to breathe from their calamities. Wallace, who had gained all their 
regards by his valour, showed that he still merited them more by 
his d^ hning the rewards of ambition. 

38. Perceiving how much he was envied by the nobility, and 
knowing how prejudicivd that envy would prove to the interests 
of his country, he resigned the regency of the kingdom, and hum- 
bled himself to a privnteystation. 

39. He proposed Cummin as the properest person to supply 
his room ; and that nobleman endeavoured to show himself wor- 
thy of that pre-eminence. He soon began to aimoy ihe enemy 
and not content with a defen:^ive war, made incursions into the 
so'ithern counties of the kingdom., which Edvv'ard had imagined 
wholly subdued. They attacked an army of the English lying at 
Rossin, near Edinburgh, and gained a complete victory. 

40. But it was not easy for any circumstances of bad fortune 
to repress the enterprising spirit of the king. He assembled a 
great fleet and army, and entering the frontiers of Scotland, ap- 
peared with a force which the enemj' could not think of resisting 
in the open held. 

41 Assured of success, he marched along and traversed the 
kingdom from one end to the other, ravaging the open coun- 
try taking all the castles, and receiving the submission of all the 
nobles. 

42. There seemof j r ui. •n only one obstacle to the hnal 



Chap. 12. EDWARD I. 67 

destruction of the Scottish monarchy, and that was Willi rim "W al- 
lace, who still continued refractory ; and wandering with a few 
forces from mountain to mountain, preserved his native inde- 
pendence and usual good fortune. 

43. But even their feeble hopes from him were soon disap- 
pointed, he was betrayed into the king's hands by Sir John Mon- 
teith, his friend, whom he hRd made acquainted with the place of 
bis concealment, being surprised by him as he lay asleep in the 
neighbourhoovd of Glasgow. 

44. The king, willing to strike the Scots with an example of 
severity, ordered him to be conducted in chains to London, 
where he was hanged, drawn and quartered, with the most bru- 
tal ferocity. 

45. Robert Br'^e, who had been one of the competitors for 
the crown, but was long kept a prisoner in London, at length es- 
caping from his guards, resolved to strike for his country's free- 
dom. Having murdered one of the king's servants, he left him- 
self no resource, but to conlinn by desperate valour, what he 
had begun in cruelty, and he soon expelled such of the English 
forces as had fixed themselves in the kingdom. 

46. Soon after he was solemnly crovfned king, by the bishop 
of St. Andrews, in the Abbey of Scone ; and numbers flocked to 
his standard, resolved to confirm his pretensions. 

47. Thus after twice conquering the kingdom, and as often 
pardoning the delinquents ; after havirig spread his victories in 
every quarter of the country, and receiving the most humble 
submissions, the old king saw that his whole work vras to begin 
afresh ; and that nothing but the final destruction of the inhabit- 
ants could give him assurance of tranquillity. 

48. But no dilTicuities could repress the arduous spirit of this 
monarch, who though now verging towards his decline, yet re- 
solved to strike a parting blow, and to make the Scots once more 
tremble at his appearance. 

49. He vowed vengeance against the whole nation; and aver- 
red that nothing but reducing them to the completest bondage 
could satisfy his resentment. 

bO. He summoned his prelates, nobility, and all Vvho held by 
knight's service, to meet him at Carlisle, Avhich was appointed 
us the general rendezvous ; and in the mean time, he detached 
a body of forces before him to Scotland, vmder the command of 
Aymerde Valence, who began the threatened infliction by a ter- 
rible victory over Bruce, near Methuen in Perthshire. 

61. Immediately after this dreadful blow, the resentful king, 
appeared in person, entering Scotland with his army, divided 
into two parts, and expecting to find, in the opposition of the 
people, a pretext for puni.-rhin^: them. But this brave prince, 

C 2 



58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 13 

who was never cruel but from motives of policy, could not 
strike the poor, submitting natives, who made no resistance. 

62. His anger was disappointed in their humiliations ; and he 
was ashamed to extirpate those who only opposed patience to 
his indignation. His death put an end to the apprehensions of 
the Scots, and effectually rescued their country from total sub- 
jection. 

63. He sickened and died at Carlisle, of a dysentery ; enjoin- 
ing his son, with his last breath, to prosecute the enterprise, 
and never to desist, till he had finally subdued the kingdom. 
He expired July the 7th, 1 307, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, 
and the thirty-fifth of his reign, after having added more to the 
solid interests of the kingdom, than any of those who went be- 
fore or succeeded hira. 



CHAPTER Xni. — Edward H. surnamed of CAERNARVoJf. 

1. Edward was in the twenty-third year of his age when he 
succeeded his father, of an agreeable figure, of a mild, harm- 
less disposition, and apparently addicted to few vices. But he 
soon gave symptoms of his unfitness to succeed so great a mo- 
narch as his father ; he was rather fond of the enjoyment of his 
power, than the securing it ; and lulled by the flattery of his 
courtiers, he thought he had done enough for glory when he 
bad accepted the crown. 

2. Instead therefore of prosecuting the war against Scotland, 
according to the injunctions he had received from his dying fa- 
ther, he took no steps to check the progress of Bruce ; his 
march into that country being rather a procession of pageantry 
than a warlike expedition. 

3. Weak monarchs are ever governed by favourites, and the 
first Edward placed his affections upon, was Piers Gavestone, 
the son of a Gascon knight, who had been employed in the ser- 
vice of the late king. 

4. This young man was adorned with every accomplishment 
of person and mind that was capable of creating affection, but 
he was utterly destitute of those qualities of heart and under- 
standing that serve to procure esteem. 

6. He was beautiful, witty, brave, and active, but then he was 
vicious, effeminate, debauched and trifling. These were qua- 
lities entirely adapted to the taste of the young monarch, and he 
geemed to think no rewards equal to his deserts. 

6. Gavestone, on the other hand, intoxicated with his power, 
became haughty and overbearing, and treated the English no- 
bilitv, Aom whom it is provable he received rAarks of contempt, 



Chap. 13. EDWARD II. 59 

■with scorn and derision. A conspiracy, therefore, was soon 
formed against him, at the head of which queen Isabella, and 
the earl of Lancaster, a nobleman of great power, were as- 
sociated. 

7. It was easy to perceive that a combination of the nobles, 
while the queen secretly assisted their designs, would be too 
powerful against the efforts of a weak king, and a vain favourite. 
The king, timid and wavering, banished him at their solicitation, 
and recalled him soon after. 

8. This was sufficient to spread an alarm over the . j^ 
whole kingdom ; all the great barons flew to arms, and ^o^o* 
the earl of Lancaster put himself at the head of this irre- 
sistable confederacy. 

9. The unhappy Edward, instead of attempting to make re- 
sistance, sought only for safety. Ever happy in the company of 
his favourite, he embarked at Tinemouth, and sailed with him to 
Scarborough, where he left Gavestone, as in a place of safety, 
and then went back to York himself, either to raise an army to 
oppose his enemies, or by his presence to allay their aninnosity. 

10. In the mean time, Gavestone was besieged in Scarbo- 
rough by the earl of Pembroke, and had the garrison been 
sufficiently supplied with provisions, that place would have been 
impregnable. 

11. But Gavestone, sensible of the bad condition of the gar- 
rison, took the earliest opportunity to offer terms of capitula- 
tion. He stipulated, that he siiould remain in Pembroke's hands 
as a prisoner for two months ; and that endeavours should be 
used, in the mean time, for a general accommodation. 

12. But Pembroke had no intention that he should escape so 
easily ; he ordered him to be conducted to the castle of Ded- 
dington, near Banbury, where, on pretence of other business, 
he left him with a feeble guard, which the earl of Warwick 
having notice of, he attacked the castle in which the unfortunate 
Gavestone was confined, imd quickly made himself master of 
his person. 

13. The earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel, were 
soon apprised of Warwick's success, and informed that their 
common enemy was nov/ in custody in Warwick castle. Thither, 
therefore, they hasted with the utmost expedition to hold a con- 
sultation upon the fate of their prisoner. 

14. This was of no long continuation ; they unanimously re- 
solved to put him to death, as an enemy to the kingdom, and 
gave him no tinje to prepare for his execution. They in'^tantly 
had him conveyed to a place called Blacklow Hill, Tshsre a 
Welsh executioner, provided for that purpose, severed K's head 
from his body. 



60 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 13. 

15. To add to Edward's misfortunes, he soon after suffered a 
most terrible defeat from the Scottish army under Bruce, hear 
Bannockhurn, and this drove him once more to seek for rehef 
in some favourite's company. The name oi. thi>- new favourite 
was Hugh de Spencer, a young man of a noble English family, 
of some merit, and very engaging accomplishments. 

16. His father was a person of a much more estimable cha- 
racter than the son ; he was venerable for his years, and re- 
spected through life for his wisdom, his valour, and his integrity. 

17. But the excellent qualities were all diminished and vilifi- 
ed, from the moment he and his son began to share the king's 
favour, who even dispossessed some lords unjustly of their 
estates, in order to accumulate them upon his favourite. 

18. This was a pretext the king's enemies had been long 
seeking for ; the earls of Lancaster and Hereford flew to arms ; 
sentence was procured from parliament of perpetual exile 
against the two Spencers, and a forfeiture of their fortune and 
estcUes. 

19. The king, however, at last rousing from his letharg3% 
took the field in defence of his beloved Spencer, and at the 
head of thirty thousand men pressed the earl of Lancaster so 
closely, that he had no time to collect his forces together, and 
flying from one place to another, he was at last stopped in his 
-way towards Scotland by Sir Andrew^ Harcla, and made prisoner. 

20. As he had formerly shown little mercy to Gavestone, 
there was very little extended to liim upon this occasion. He 
was condemned by a court martial, and led, mounted on a lean 
horse, to an eminence near Pomfret, in circumstances of the 
greatest indignity, where he was beheaded by a Londoner. 

21. A rebellion thus crushed, only served to increase the pride 
and rapacity of j^oung Spencer ; most of the forfeitures were seiz- 
ed for his use ; and in promptitude to punish the delinquents, he 
was found guilty of many acts of rjipine and injustice. 

22. But he was now to oppose a more formidable enemy in 
queen Isabella, a cruel haughty woman, who f^ed over to France, 
and refused to appear in England, till Spencer was removed from 
the royal presence, and banished the kingdom. 

23. By this reply she gained two very considerable advantages, 
she became popular in England, where Spencer was universally 
disliked ; and she had the pleasure of enjoying the company of a 
young nobleman, whose name was Mortimer, upon whom she 
had lately placed her aff'ections, and whom she indulged with all 
the famiharities that her criminal passion could confer. 

24. The queen's court now, therefore, became a sanctuary 
for all the malecontents who were banished their own country, 
or who chose to come over. 



Chap. 13. EDWARD IT. 61 

25. Accordingly soon after, accompanied by three thousand 
men at arms, she set out from Dort harbonr, and landed safelj^, 
without opposition, on the coast of Suffolk. She no sooner appear 
ed, than there seemed a general revolt in her favour, and the un- 
fortunate king found the spirit of disloyalty was not con^lned to 
the capital alone, but diffused over the whole kingdom. 

26. He had placed some dependence \rpon the garrison which 
was stationed in the castle of Bristol, under the command of the 
elder Spencer ; but they matined against their governor, and 
that unfortunate favourite was delivered up, and condemned by 
the tumultuous barons to the most ignominious death. 

27. He was hanged on a gibbet in his armour, his body was 
cut in pieces and thrown to the dogs, and his head was sent to 
Winchester, where it was set on a pole, and exposed to the in- 
sults of the populace. 

28. Young Spencer, the unhappy son, did .;ot long survive the 
ilither ; he was taken with some others, who had followed the 
fortunes of the wretched king, in an obscure convent in Wales, 
and the merciless victors resolved to glut their revenge in adding 
insult to cruelty. 

29. The queen had not patience to wait the formality of a trial, 
"hwi ordered him immediately to be led forth before the insulting 
populace, and seemed to take a savage pleasure in feasting her 
eyes with his distresses. 

30. The gibbet erected for his execution was fifty feet high : 
his head was sent to London, where the citizens received it in 
brutal triumy)h, and fixed it on a bridge. Several other lords also 
shared his fate ; all deserving pity indeed, had they not theTO- 
selves formerly justified the present inhumanity by setting a cruel 
example. 

31. In the mean time the king, wlio hoped to find refuge in 
Wales, was quickly discovered, and delivered up to his adver- 
saries, who expressed their sjitisfaction in the grossness of their 
treatment. He was conducted to the capital, amidst the insults 
and reproaches of the people, and confined in the tower. 

32. A charge was soon after exhibited against him ; in which 
no other crimes but his incapacity to govern, his indolence, his 
love of pleasure, and his being swayed by evil counsellors, were 
objected against him. 

33. His deposition was quickly voted by parliament ; he was 
assigned a pension for his support ; his son Edward, a youth of 
fourteen, was fixed upon to succeed him, and the queen was ap- 
pointed regent during the minority. 

34. The deposed monarch but a short time survived his . -pw 
misfortunes ; He was sent from prison to prison, a wretch- -I'oqq' 
ed outcast, and the sport of his inhuman keepers. 



f,2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 14; 

35. He had been at first consigned to the custody of the eail 
of Lancaster ; but this nobleman showing some marks of respect 
and pity, he was taken out of his hands, and deUvered over to 
lords Berkley, Montravers, and Gournay, who were entrusted 
tvith the charge of guarding him month about. 

36. Whatever his treatment from lord Berkley might have 
been, the other two seemed resolved that he should enjoy none 
of the comforts of life while in their custody ; they practised every 
kind of indignity upon him, as if their design had been to accele- 
rate his death by the bitterness of his sufferings. 

37. Among other acts of brutal oppression, it is said that they 
shaved him for sport in the open fields, using water from a neigh- 
bouring ditch. He is said to have borne his former indignities 
with patience, but all fortitude forsook him upon this occasion ; 
he looked upon his merciless insulters with an air of fallen ma- 
jesty, and bursting into tears, exclaimed, that the time might 
come when he would be more decently attended. 

38. This, however, was but a vain expectation. As his per- 
secutors saw that his death might not arrive, even under every 
cruelty, till a revolution had been made in his favour, they resolv- 
ed to rid themselves of their fears by destroying him at once. 

39. Accordingly, his two keepers, Gournay and Montravers, 
came to Berkley caatle, where Edward was then confined ; and 
having concerted a method of putting him to death, without any 
external violence, they threw him on a bed, holding him down 
by a table, which they had placed over him. 

40. They ran a hornpipe up his body, through which they con- 
veyed a red hot iron, arid thus burnt his bowels, without dis- 
figuring his body. 

41. By this cruel artifice they expected to have their crime 
concealed ; but his horrid shrieks, which were heard at a dis- 
tance from the castle, soon gave a suspicion of the murder ; and 
the whole was soon after divulged by the confession of one of the 
accomplices. 

42. Misfortunes like his must ever create pity ; and a punish- 
ment so disproportionate to the sufferer's guilt, must wipe away 
even mdnij of those faults of which Edward was justly culpable. 



CHAPTER XIV.— Edward III. 

1. The parliament by which young Edward was raised to the 
throne during the life of his father, appointed twelve persons 
as his privy council, to direct the operations of the government. 
Mortimer, the queen's paramour, who might naturally be set 
down as one of the members, artfully excluded himself, under a 



Ciiap. 14. EDWARD III. 03 

pretended show of moderation ; but at the same time he secretly 
influenced all the measures that came under their deliberation. 

2. He caused the greatest part of the royal revenues to be set- 
tled on the queen dowager, and he seldom took the trouble to 
consult the ministers of government in any public undertaking. 
The king himself was so besieged with the favourite's creatures, 
that no access could be procured to him, and the whole sove- 
reign authority was shared between Mortimer and the queen, who 
took no care to conceal her criminal attachment. 

3. At length, however, Edward was resolved to shake off an 
authority that was odious to the nation, and particularly restric- 
tive upon himself. But such was the power of the favourite, 
that it required as much precaution to overturn the usurper as 
to establish the throne. 

4. The queen and Mortimer had for some time chosen the 
castle of Nottingham for the place of their residence ; it was 
strictly guarded, the gates locked every evening, and the keys 
carried to the queen. 

5. It was, therefore, agreed between the king and some of his 
barons, who secretly entered into his designs, to seize upon them 
in the fortress ; and for that purpose. Sir William Eland, the go- 
vernor, was induced to admit them by a secret subterraneous pas- 
sage, which had been formerly contrived for an outlet, but was 
now hidden with rubbish, and known only to one or two. 

6. It was by this, therefore, the noblemen in the king's inte- 
rest entered the castle in the night ; and Mortimer, without hav- 
ing it in his power to make any resistance, was seized in an 
apartment adjoining that of the queen. 

7. It was in vain that she endeavoured to protect him, in vain 
she entreated them to spare her '^ gentle Mortimer;" the ba- 
rons, deaf to her entreaties, denied her that pity which she had 
so often refused to others. 

8. Her paramour was condemned by the parliament which 
Was then sitting, without being permitted to make his defence, 
or even examining a witness against him. He was hanged on a 
gibbet at a place called Elmes, about a mile from London, where 
his body was left hanging for two days after. 

9. The queen, who was certainly the most culpable, was shield- 
ed by the dignity of her situation ; she was only discarded from 
all share of power, and confined for life to the castle of Risings, 
with a pension of three hundred pounds a year. 

10. From this confinement she was never after set free ; and 
though the king annually paid her a visit of decent ceremony, yet 
she found herself abandoned to universal contempt and detesta- 
tion ; and continued for above twenty-five years after, a misera- 
Me monument of blasted ambition. 



64 HISTORY OF ElsGLAND. Chap. 14. 

11. In order still more to secure the people's affections, Ed- 
ward made a successful irruption into Scotland, in which in one 
battle fought at Hallidown hill, above thirty thousand of the Scots 
were slain. Soon after he turned his arms against France, which 
was at that time particularly unfortunate. 

12. The three sons of Philip the Fair, in full parliament, ac- 
cused their wives of adultery ; and in consequence of this accu- 
sation they were condemned and imprisoned for life. Lewis Hut- 
tin, successor to the crown of France, caused his wife to be 
strangled, and her lovers to be flead aliv e. 

13. After his death, as he left only a daughter, his next bro- 
ther, Philip the Tall, assumed the crown in prejudice of the 
daughter, and vindicated his title by the Salic law, which laid it | 
down that no female should succeed to ths crown. , | 

14. Edward however urged his pretensions, as being by his 
mother Isabella, who wns daughter to Philip the Fair, and sister 
to the three last kings of France, rightful heir to the crown. 

15. But first he, in a formed manner, consulted his parliament 
on the propriety of the undertaking, obtained their approbation, 
received a proper supply of wool which he intended to barter 
with the Fleming-s ; and being attended with a body of English 
forces, and several of his nobility, he sailed over into Flanders, 
big with his intended conquests. 

16. The first great advantage gained by the English was in a 
naval engagement on the coast of Flanders, in which the French 
lost two hundred and thirty ships, and had thirty thousand of 
their seamen and two of their admirals slain 

17. The intelligence of f:^dward's landing, and the devasta- 
tion caused by his troops, who dispersed themselves over the 
whole face of the country, soon spread universal consternation 
through the French court. 

18. Caen was taken and plundered by the English without 
mercy ; the villages and towns even up to Paris, shared the 
same fate ; and the French had no other resource but by 
breaking down their bridges, to attempt putting a stop to the in- 
vader's career. 

19. Phihp, then king of France, was not idle in making pre- 
parations to repress the enemy. He had stationed one of his 
generals, Godemar de Faye, with an army on the opposite side 
of the river Sornme, over which Edv/ard was to pass ; while 
he himself, at the head of a hundred thousand fighting men, 
advanced to give the Englidi battle. 

20. As both armies had for some time been in sight of each 
other, nothing was so eagerly expected on each side as a battle ; 
imd although the forces were extremely disproportioned, the 
English amounting only to thirty thousand, the French to a 



Chap. 14. EDWARD III 66 

hundred and twenty thousand, yet Edward resolved to indulge 
the impetuosity of his troops, and put all to the hazard of a 
battlec 

21. He accordingly chose his ground with advantage near 
the village of Cressy, and there determined to av/ait with tran- 
quillity the shock of the enemy. He drew up his men on a gentle 
ascent, and divided them into three lines. The lirst was command- 
ed by the young prince of Wales ; the second was conducted 
by the earls of Northampton and Arundel ; and the third, whicli 
he kept as a body of reserve, was headed by the king in person. 

22. On the other side, Philip, impelled by resentment, and 
confident of his numbers, was more solicitous in bringing the 
enemy to an engagement, than prudent in taking measures for 
its success. 

23. He led on his army in three bodies opposite those of the 
English. The first line consisted of fifteen thousand Genoese 
cross bow men. The second body was led b}' the king of 
France's brother; aiid he himself was nt the head of the third. 

24. About three in the afternoon, the famous battle of Cressy 
began, by the French king's ordering the Genoese archers to 
charge ; but they were so fatigued with their march, that they 
cried out for a little rest before they should eng^jge. 

25. The count Alencon, being informed of their petition, 
rode up, and reviling them as cowards, commanded them to be- 
gin the onset without delay. Their reluctance to begin Was 
still more increased by a heavy shower which fell that instant, 
and relaxed their bow strings, so that tiie discharge they made 
produced but verv little effect. 

26. On the other hand, the English archers, who had kept 
their bows in cases, and were favoured with a sudden gleam of 
sunshine that rather dazzled the enemy, let fly their arrows so 
thick, and with such good aim, that nothing was to be seen 
among the Genoese but hnrry, terror, and dismay. 

27. The young prince of Wales hfid presence of mind to 
take advantage of their confusion, and to lead on his line to the 
charge. The French cavalry, however, commanded by the 
count Alencon, wheeling round, sustained the combat, and began 
to hem the English in. 

28. The earls of Arundel and Northampton now came to as- 
sist the prince, who appeared foremost in the very shock ; and 
wherever he appeared turning the fortune of the day. The 
thickest of the battle w^as now gathered round him, and the va- 
lour of a boy filled ev^en veterans with astonishment ; but their 
surprise at his courage soon give way to their fears for his 
safety. 

29. Being apprehensive that some mischance might happen 



as HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 14. 

to him in the end, an officer was despatched to the king, desir- 
ing that succours might be sent to the prince's relief. 

30. Edward, who had all this time, with great tranquillity- 
viewed the engagement from a wind mill, demanded with seem- 
ing deliberation if his son was dead, but being answered that he 
still lived, and was giving astonishing instances of valour ; " then 
tell my generals, cried the king, that he shall have no assistance 
from me, the honour of this day shall be his, let him show him- 
self worthy the profession of arms, and let him be indebted to 
his own merit alone for the victory." 

31. This speech being reported to the prince and his attend 
ants, it inspired them with new courage ; they made a fresh at- 
tack upon the French cavalry, and count Alencon, their bravest 
commander, was slain. 

32. This was the beginning of their total overthrow ; the 
French being now without a competent leader, were thrown in- 
to confusion ; their whole army took to flight, and were put to 
the sword by the pursuers without mercy, till night stopped the 
carnage. 

33. Never was a victory more seasonable or less bloody to 
the English than this. Notwithstanding the great slaughter of 
the enemy, the conquerors lost but one esquire, three knights, 
and a few of inferior rank. 

34. But this victory was attended with still more substantial 
advantages, for Edward, as moderate in conquest, as prudent in 
his methods to obtain it, resolved to secure an easy entrance into 
France for the future. With this view he laid siege to Calais, 
that was then defended by John de Vienne, an experienced 
commander, and supplied with every thing necessary for defence. 

35. These operations though slow, were at length success- 
ful. It was in vain that the governor made a noble defence, 
that he excluded all the useless mouths from the city, which 
Edward permitted generously to pass. Edward resolved to re- 
duce it by famine, and it was at length taken after a twelve 
month's siege, the defendants having been reduced to the last 
extremity. 

36. He resolved to punish the obstinacy of the townsmen, by 
the death of six of the most considerable citizens, who offered 
themselves with ropes round their necks, to satiate his indigna- 
tion ; but he spared their lives, at the intercession of the queen. 

37. Wh&e Edward was reaping victories upon the continent, 
the Scots, ever willing to embrace a favourable opportunity of 
rapine and revenge, invaded the frontiers with a numerous ar- 
my, headed by David Bruce, their king. This unexpected in- 
vasion, at such a juncture, alarmed the English, but was not ca- 
pable of intimidating them 



Chap. 14. EDWARD HI. Gt 

38. Lionel, Edward's son, who was left guardian of England 
during his father's absence, was yet too young to take upon him 
the command of an army ; but the victories on the continent 
seemed to inspire even women with valour: Phillippa, Edward's 

. queen, took upon her the conduct of the field, and prepared to 
repulse the enemy in person. 

39. Accordingly, having made lord Percy general un- . ^ 
der her, she met the Scots at a place called Nevill's ^o^p* 
Cross, near Durham, and offered them battle. The 
Scottish king was no less impatient to engage ; he imagined that 
he might obtain an easy victory against undisciplined troops, and 
headed by a woman. 

40. But he was miserably deceived ; his army was quickly 
routed and driven from the field ; fifteen thousand of his men 
were cut to pieces ; and he himself, with many of his noble? 
and knights were taken prisoners, and carried in triumph to 
London. 

41. A victory gained by the Black Prince near Poictiers fol- 
lowed not long after, in which John king of France, was taken 
prisoner, and led in triumph to London, amidst an amazing con- 
course of spectators. 

42. Two kings prisoners in the same court, and at the same 
time, were considered as glorious achievements ; but all that 
England gained by them was only glory. Whatever was won 
in France, with all the dangers of war, and the expense of pre- 
paration, was successively, and in a manner silently lost, without 
the mortification of a defeat. 

43. The English, by their frequent supplies, had been quite 
exhausted, and were unable to continue an army in the field. 
Charles, who had succeeded his father John, who died a prison- 
er in the Savoy, on the other hand, cautiously forbore coming 
to any decisive engagement ; but was contented to let his ene- 
mies waste their strength in attempts to plunder a fortified 
country. 

44. When they were retired, he then was sure to sally forth, 
and possess himself of such places as they were not strong enough 
to defend. He first fell upon Ponthieu ; the citizens of Abbe- 
ville opened their gates to him, those of St. Valois, Rue, and 
Crutoy, imitated the example ; and the whole country was in a 
little time reduced to total submission. 

45. The southern provinces were in the same manner invaded 
by his generals with equal success ; while the Black Prince des- 
titute of supplies from England, and wasted by a cruel consump- 
tive disorder, was obliged to return to his native country, leav 
ing the affairs of the south of France in a most desperate coo^ 
•lition. 



X 



CPIAPTER XV.—RicHARD n. 

1 . INychard II. was but el«v^en years old when he came to the 
throne of his grandfather, and foimd the people discontented and 
poor, the nobles proud and rebellions. As he was a minor, the 
gOTernnientwas vested in Die hands of his three uncles, the dukes 
of Lancaster, York and Gloucester ; and as the late king had 
left the kingdom involved in many dangerous and expensive 
wars, which demanded large and constant supplies, the murmurs 
of the people increased in proportion. 

2. The expenses of armaments to face the enemy on every 
side, and a want of economy in the administration, entirely ex- 
hausted the treasury ; and a new U\x of three groats on every 
person above iifteen was granted by parliament a'5 a supply. 

3. The indignation of the people hud been for some time in- 



68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 15, 

46. But what of all other things served to gloom the latter 
part of his splended reign, was the approaching death of the 
Black Prince, whose constitution showed but too manifestly the 
symptoms of a speedy dissolution. This valiant and accomplish- 
ed prince died in the forty-sixth year of his age, leaving behind 
him a character without a single blemish ; and a degree of sor- 
row among the people tliat time could scarcely alleviate. 

47. The king was most sensibly atfected for the loss of his son, 
and tried every art to allay his uneasiness. He removed himself 
entirely from the duties and burdens of the state, and left his king- 
dom to be j'lundered by a set of rapacious ministers. 

48. He did not survive the consequences of his bad conduct; 
but died about a year after the prince, at Shene, in Surry, de- 
:^erted by ell his courtiers, even by those who had grown rich 
by his bounty. lie expired in the sixty-fifth 3;ear of his age, 
and iifiy-first of his reign, 1337 : a prince more admired than 
beloved by his subjects, and more an object of their applause than 
their sorrow. 

49. It was in this reign tJiat the order of the garter was . jy 
instituted ; the number was to consist of twenty-four per- " * ' 
sons besides the king. A story prevails, but unsupported \ 
by any ancient authority, that the countess of Salisbury, at a ball 
happening to drop her garter, the king took it up, and presented 
it to her Vk'ith these vfords, '* Honi soit qui mal y pense :" Evil 
to him that evil thinks. This accident it is said gave rise to the 
order and motto. 

60. Edward left many children by his queen Phillippa of Hai- 
nult ; his eldest son, the Black Prince, died before him, but he 
left a son named Richard, who succeeded to the throne. 



ciuip. i:^. RICHARD 11. e9 

ising* ; but a tax so unequitable, in which the rich paid no 
more than the poor, kindled the resentment of the latter into a. 
flame. If began in Essex, where a report was industriously 
spread, that the peasants were to be destroyed, their houses 
burned, and their farms plundered. 

4. A blacksmith, well known by the name of Wat Tyler, was 
the first who excited them to arms. The tax gatherers commg 
to this man's house while he was at work, demanded payment 
for his daughter, which he refused, alleging she was under the 
age mentioned in the act. 

5. One of the brutal collectors insisted on her being a full 
grown woman, and immediately attempted a very indecent 
proof of his assertion, which provoked the lather to such a de- 
gree, that he instantly struck him dead with a blow of his ham- 
mer. The standers-by applauded his spirit, and, one and all, 
resolved to defend his conduct. lie was considered as a cham- 
pion in the cause, and appointed the leader and spokesman of 
the people. 

6. It is easy to imagine the disorders committed by this tumult- 
uous rabble : the whole neighborhood rose in arms ; they burnt 
and plundered wherever they came, and revenged upon their 
former masters, all those insults which they had long sustained 
with impunity. As the discontent was general, the insurgents 
nicreased in proportion as they approached the capital. 

7. The flame soon propagated itself into Kent, Kertfordshire, 
Surry, Sussex, Suifolk, Norfolk, Cambridge -and Lincohi. They 
Avere found to amount to above an hundred thousand men by 
the time they vvere arrived at Biackheaih. 

8. At the head of one party of these was Wat Tyler, who led 
};is men into Smithfieid, where he was met by the king, who 
invited him to a conference, under a pretence of hearing and 
redressing his grievances. 

9. Tyler ordering his companions to retire, till he should give 
them a signal, bc'diy ventured to meet the king in "the midst of 
his retinue, and accordingly began the conference. 

10. The demands of this demagogue are censured by all the 
historians of the times, as insolent and extravagant ; and yet noth- 
ing can be more just than those they have delivered for him. 
He required that all slaves should be set free ; that all common- 
ages should be open to the poor as well as the rich ; and that 
a general pardon should be passed for the late outrages. 

1 1. Whilst he made these demands, he now and then lifted up 
his sword in a menacing manner : which insolence so raised the 
indignation of William Walworth, then mayor of London attend- 
ing on the king, that, without considering the danger to which he 
exposed his majesty, he stunned Tyler w^ith a blow of his mace ; 



70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 16. 

while one of the king's knights riding up despatched him with 
his sword. 

12. The mutineers seeing their leader fall, prepared to take, 
revenge ; and their bows were now bent for execution, when 
Richard, though not quite sixteen years of age, rode up to the 
rebels, and with admirable presence of mind, cried out, " What, 
my people, will you then kill your king ? Be not concerned 
for the loss of your leader ; I myself will now be your gene- 
ral ; follow me into the tield, and you shall have whatever you 
desire." 

13. The awed multitude immediately desisted, they followed 
the king as if mechanically into the fields, and there he granted 
them the same charter that he had before given to their compa- 
nions, but which he soon after revoked in parliament. 

14. Hitherto the king had acted under the control of the re- 
gency, who did all they could devise to abridge his power ; howr 
ever, in an extraordinary council of the nobility, assembled after 
Easter, he, to the astonishment of all present, desired to know 
his age ; and being told that he was turned of two-and-twenty, 
he alleged, that it was time then for him to govern without help ; 
and that there was no reason that he should be deprived of tho^e 
rights which the meanest of his subjects enjoyed, 

A pv 15. Being thus left at liberty to conduct the business of 
1389* gov^'^^'^^^t ^t discretion, it quickly appeared that he want- 
ed those arts which are usually found to procure a lasting 
respect ; but he was fond of luxurious pleasure and idle osten- 
tation ; he admitted the meanest ranks to his familiarity ; and his 
conversation was not adapted to impress them with a reverence 
of his morals or abilities. 

16 The cruelty shown to the duke of Gloucester, who upon 
slight suspicions was sent to confinement in Calais, and there 
murdered in prison, with some other acts equally arbitrary, did 
not fail to increase those animosities which had already taken 
deep root in the kingdom. 

17. The aggrandizement of some favourites contributed still ii 
more to make the king odious ; but though he seemed resolved,^ 
by all his actions, to set his subjects against him, it wag accident; 
that gave the occasion for his overthrow. The duke of Here- 
ford appeared in parliament, and accused the duke of Norfolk of 
having spoken seditious words against his majesty in a private 
conversation. Norfolk denied the charge, gave Hereford the 
lie, and offered to prove his innocence by single combat. 

18. As proofs were wanting for legal trial, the lords readily 
acquiesced in that mode of determination ; the time and place 
were appointed, and the whole nation waited with an anxious 
suspense for the event. At length the day arrived on which this 



Chap. 15. RICHARD 11. 71 

iluel was to be fought, and the champions Iiaving just begun their 
career, the king stopped the combat, and ordered both the com- 
batants to leave the kingdom. 

19. The duke of Norfolk he banished for life, but the duke of 
Hereford only for ten years. Thus the one was condemned to 
exile without being charged with any offence, and the other with- 
out being convicted of any crime. The duke of Norfolk was 
overwhelmed with grief and despondence at the judgment award- 
ed against him ; he retired to Venice, where, in a little time after, 
he died o^ a broken heart. 

20. Hereford's behaviour on this occasion was resigned and sub- 
missive, which so pleased the king, that he consented to shorten 
the date of his banishment four years, and he also granted him 
\etters patent, ensuring him the enjoyment of an inheritance which 
shoukl fall to him during his absence ; but upon the death of his 
father, the duke of Lancaster, which happened shortly after, 
Richard revoked those letters, and retained the possession of the 
Lancaster estate himself. 

21. Such complicated injuries served to inflame the resent- 
ment of Hereford against the king, and although he had hitherto 
concealed it, he now set no bounds to his indignation, but even 
conceived a desire of dethroning a person who had shown him- 
self so unworthy of power. 

22. Indeed no man could be better qualified for an enterprise 
of this nature than the duke of Hereford ; he was cool, cautious, 
discerning and resolute. He had served with distinction agains* 
the infidels of Lithuania ; and he had thus joined to his other me- 
rits those of piety and valour. 

23. He was stimulated by private injuries, and had alliances 
and fortune sufficient to give weight to his measures. He only 
waited for the absence of the king from England, to put his 
schemes in execution ; and Richard's going over to Ireland to 
quell an insurrection there, was the opportunity he long had 
looked for. 

24. Accordingly he instantly embarked at Nantz,with a reti- 
nue of sixty persons, in three small vessels, and landed at Raven- 
spur in Yorkshire. The earl of Northumberland, who had long 
been a malcontent, together with Henry Percy, his son, wh0» 
from his ardent valour, was surnamed Hotspur, immediately join- 
ed him with their forces. 

25. After this junction the concourse of people coming to list 
under his banner was so great, that in a few days his army amount- 
ed to three score thousand men. 

26. Whilst these things were transacting in England, Richard 
continued in Ireland in perfect security. Contrary winds, for 
vhree weeks together, prevented his receiving any news of the 



72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. Id. 

rebellion which was begun in his native dominions ; wherefore, 
upon landing at Milford Haven with a body of twenty thousand 
men, he saw himself in a dreadful situation, in the midst of an 
enraged people, without any friend on whom to rely ; and for- 
saken by those, who, in the sunshine of his power, had only con- 
tributed to fan his folhes. 

27. His little army gradually began to desert him, till at last 
he found that he had not above six thousand men who followed 
his standard. Thus, not knowing whom to trust or where to 
run, he saw no other hopes of safety, but to throw himself upon 
the generosity of his enemy, and to gain from pity what he could 
not obtain by arms. 

28. He therefore sent Hereford word that he was ready to 
submit to whatever terms he thought proper to prescribe, and 
that he earnestly desired a conference. For this purpose, the 
duke appointed iiim to meet at a castle within about ten miles of 
Chester, where he came the next day with his whole army. 

29. Richard, who the day before had been brought thither by 
the duke of Northumberland, descrying his rival's approach from 
the walls went down to receive him ; while Hereford, after some 
ceremony, entered the castle in complete armour, only his head 
was bare, in compliment to the fallen king. Richard received 
him with that open air for which he had been remarkable, and 
kindly bade him welcome. 

30. " My lord the king," returned the earl, ivith a cool re- 
spectful bow, " I am come sooner than you appointed, because 
your people say, that for one-and-twenty years you have govern- 
ed with rigour and indiscretion. They are very ill satisfied with 
your conduct ; but if it please God, I will help you to govern 
them, better for the time to come." 

31. To this declaration the king made no other answer, but, 
" Fair cousin, since it pleases you, it pleases us likewise." 

32. But Hereford's haughty answer was not the only mortifi- 
cation the unfortunate Richard was to endure. After a short 
conversation with some of the king's attendants, Hereford order- 
ed the king's horses to be brought out of the stable ; and two 
wretched animals Deing produced, Richard was placed upon one, 
tind his favourite, the earl of Salisbury, upon the other. 

33. In this mean equipiige they rode to Chester, and w^ere 
conveyed to the castle, with a great noise of trumpets, and through 

. Tast concourse of people, who were no way moved at the sight. 
lis this manner he was led triumphantly along, from town to town, 
midst multitudes who scoffed at him and extolled his rival. 

34. Long live the good duke of Lancaster, our deliverer ! wag 
lihe general cry ; but as for the king, to use the pathetic words 
oJf tfci poet, " None cried, God bless hiua I" ! 



Chap. 15. RICHARD II. 73 

35. Thus, after repeated indignities, he was cenfmed a close 
prisoner in the Tower ; there, if possible, to undergo a still great- 
er variety of studied insolence, and flagrant contempt. 

36. The wretched monarch humbled in this manner, began 
to lose the pride of a king with the splendours of royalty, and his 
spirits sunk to his circumstances. There was no great difficulty, 
therefore, in inducing him to sign a deed by which he renounced 
his crown, as being unqualified for governing the kingdom. 

37. Upon this resignation Hereford founded his principal claim , 
but willing to fortify his pretensions with every appearance of 
justice, he called a parliament, which was readily brought to ap- 
prove and confirm his claims. 

38. A frivolous charge of thirty-three articles was drawn up, 
and found valid against the king ; upon which he was solemnly 
deposed, and the earl of Hereford elected in his stead, by the ti- 
tle of Henry IV. 

39. Thus began the contest between the houses of York and 
Lancaster ; which, for several years after, deluged the kingdom 
with blood ; and yet, in the end, contributed to settle and confirm 
the constitution. 

40. When Richard was deposed, the earl of Northumberland 
made a motion in the house of peers, demanding the advice of par- 
liament with regard to the future treatment of the deposed king. 

41 . To this they replied, that he should be imprisoned in some 
secure place, where his friends and partizans should not be able 
to find him. This was accordingly put in practice ; but while 
he still continued alive, the usurper could not remain in safety. 

42. Indeed some conspiracies and commotions, which follow- 
ed soon after, induced Henry to wish for Richard's death ; in 
consequence of which, one of those assassins that are found in 
every court, ready to commit the most horrid crimes for reward, 
went down to the place of this unfortunate monarch's confine- 
ment in the castle of Pomfret, and with eight of his followers, 
rushed into his apartment. 

43. The king concluding their design was to take away his life, 
resolved not to die unrevenged, but to sell it as dear as he could ; 
wherefore, wresting a pole axe from one of the murderers, he 
soon laid four of their number dead at his feet. But he was at 
length overpowered, and struck dead by the blow of a pole axe j 
although some assert that he was starv^l in prison. 

44. Thus died the unfortimate Richard, in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age, and the twenty-third of his reign. Though his 
conduct wasblameable, yet the punishment he suffered was great- 
er than his offences ; and in the end, his sufferings made more 
converts to his family and cause than ever his more meritorious 
actions could have procured them. He left no posterity, eithel* 
legitimate or otherwise. D 



74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 16 

CHAPTER XVI.— Henry IV. 

1. HENRY soon found that the throne of an usurper is but a 
bed of thorns. Such violent animosities broke out among the 
barons in the first session of his parliament, that forty challenges 
were given and received, and forty gauntlets thrown down as 
pledges of the sincerity of their resentment. 

2. But though these commotions were seemingly suppressed 
by his moderation, that formed against him by the earl of North- 
umberland was truly formidable. 

3. It was in a skirmish between the Scotch and En- ^ -p. 
glish, that Archibald earl of Douglas, with many of the i^pwo* 
Scotch nobility, were taken prisoners by the earl of 
Northumberland, and carried to Alnick castle. 

4 When Henry received intelligence of this victory, he sent 
the edrl orders not to ransom his prisoners, as he intended to 
detam them, in order to increase his demands, in making peace 
with Scotland. 

5. This message was highly resented by the earl of Northum- 
berland, who, by the laws of war that prevailed in that age, had 
a right to the ransom of all such as he had taken in battle. 

6. The command was still more irksome, as he considered 
the king as his debtor both for security and his crown. Accord- 
ingly, stung with this supposed injury, he resolved to overturn a 
throne which he had the chief hand in establishing. 

7. A scheme was laid, in which the Scotch and Welch were 
to unite their forces, and to assist Northumberland in elevating 
Mortimer, as the true heir to the crown of England. 

8. When all things were prepared for the intended insurrec- 
tion, the earl had the mortification to find himself unable to lead 
on the troops, being seized with a sudden illness at Berwick. 

9. But the want of Jiis presence was well supplied by his son, 
Harry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, who took the command of the 
troops, and marched them towards Shrewsbury, in order to join 
his forces with those of Glendour, a Welch chieftain, who some- 
time before had been exchanged from prison, and had now ad- 
vanced with his forces as far as Shropshire. 

10. Upon the junction of these two armies, they pubhshed a 
manifesto, which aggravated their real grievances and invented 
more. 

1 1. In the mean time, Henry, who had received no intelhgence 
of their design, was at first greatly surprised at the news ®f this 
rebellion. 

12. But fortune seemed to befriend him on this occasion ; he 
had a small army in readiness, which he intended against the 
Scotch, and knowing the importance of despatch against such ac- 



Chap. 16. HExNRY IV. 75 

tive enemies, he instantly hurried down to ShrewsDury, mat he 
might give the rebels battle. 

10. Upon the approach of the two armies, both sides seemed 
willing t"* give a colour to their cause, by showing a desire ot* 
reconciliation ; but when they came to open their mutual de- 
mands, the treaty was turned into abuse and recrimination. Oa 
one side was objected rebellion and ingratitude ; on the other, 
tyranny and usurpation. 

11. The two armies were pretty nearly equal, each consist- 
ing of about twelve thousand men ; the animosity on both sides 
was inflamed to the highest pitch ; and no prudence nor military 
skill could determine to which side the victory might incline. 

12. Accordingly a very bloody engagement ensued, in which 
the generals on both sides exerted themselves with great brave- 
ry. Henry was seen every where in the thickest of the tight ; 
while his valiant son, who was afterwards the renowned conquer- 
or of France, fought by his side, and though wounded in the 
face by an arrow, still kept the iieJd, and performed astonishing 
acts of valour. 

13. On the other side, the daring Hotspur, supported that re- 
nov/n which he had acquired in so many bloody engagements, and 
everywhere sought out the king as a noble object of his indigna- 
tion. At last however, his death from an unknown hand decided 
the victory, and the fortune of Henry once more prevailed. 

14. On that bloody day, it is said, that no less than two thou- 
sand three hundred gentlemen were slain, and about six thou- 
sand private men, of whom two-thirds were of Hotspur's array, 

16. While this furious transaction was going forward, Nor- 
thumberland, who was lately recovered from his indisposition, 
was advancing with a body of troops to reinforce the army of 
the malecontents, and take upon him the command. 

16. But hearing, by the way, of his son's and brother's mis- 
fortunes, he dismissed his troops, not daring to keep the field 
with so small a force, before an army superior in number, and 
flushed with recent victory. 

17. The earl, therefore, for a while attempted to find safety 
oy flight, but at last being pressed by his pursuers, and finding 
himself totally without resource, he chose rather to throw him- 
self upon th<» king's mercy, than lead a precarious and indigent 
life in exile. 

18. Upon his appearing before Henry at York, he pretended 
that his sole intention in arming was to mediate between the two 
parties ; and this, though but a very weak apology, seemed to 
satisfy the king. Northumberland, therefore, received a pardon, 
Henry probably thinking that he was sufliciently punished by 
the loss of his army, and the death of his favourite son. 



76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 10 

19. By these means Henry seemed to surmount all his trou 
bles ; and the calm, which was thus produced, was employed 
by him in endeavours to acquire popularity, which he had lost by 
the severities exercised during the preceding part of his reign. 
. j^ 20. For that reason, he often permitted the house of 
* _* commons to assume powers, which had not been usually 
exercised by their predecessors. In the sixth year of 
his reig-n, when they voted him the supplies, they appointed 
treasurers of their own to see the money disbursed for the pur- 
poses intended ; and required them to deliver in their accounts 
to the house. 

21. They proposed thirty very important articles for the 
government of the king's household ; and on the whole, preserv- 
ed their privileges and freedom more entire during his reign, 
than that of any of his predecessors. 

22. But while the king thus laboured, not without success, to re- 
trieve the reputation he had lost, his son Henry prince of Wales 
seemed equally bent on incurring the public aversion. He be 
came notorious for all kinds of debauchery ; and ever chose to 
be surrounded by a set of wretches who took pride in commit- 
ting the most illegal acts, with the prince at their head. 

23. The king was not a httle mortified at this degeneracy in 
his eldest son, who seemed entirely forgetful of his station, al- 
though he had already exhibited repeated proofs of his valour, 
conduct, and generosity. 

24. Such were the excesses into which he ran, that one of 
his dissolute companions having been brought to trial before sir 
William Gascoigne, chief justice of the king's bench, for some 
misdemeanor, the prince was so exasperated at the issue of thcj 
trial, that he struck the judge in open court. 

26. The venerable magistrate, who knew the reverence that 
was due to his station, behaved with the dignity that became his 
office, and immediately ordered the prince to be conmiitted to 
prison. 

26. When this transaction was reported to the king, who was 
an excellent judge of mankind, he could not help exclaiming in 
a transport ; " Happy is the king who has a magistrate endowed 
with courage to execute the laws upon such an offender ; still 
more happy in having a son willing to submit to such a chastise- 
ment !" 

27. This, in fact, is one of the first great instances we read i.a 
the English history of a magistrate doing justice in opposition to 
power ; since, upon many former occasions, we find the judges 
only ministers of royal caprice. 

28. Henry, whose health had for some time been declining, 
did not long outlive this transaction. He was subject to fit^, 



fchap. 17. HIENRY V. 77 

which bereaved him for that time of his senses ; and which at 
last brought on his death at Westminster, in the forty-sixth year 
of his age, and the fourteenth of his reign. 



CHAPTER XVII.— Henry V. 

1. The first steps taken by the young king confirmed all those 
prepossessions entertatned in his favour. He called to- » j) 
gether his former abandoned companions, acquainted /^ig* 
them with his intended reformation ; exhorted them to 
follow his example ; and thus dismissed them from Lis presence ; 
allowing them a competence to subsist upon, till he saw them 
worthy of further promotion. 

2. The faithful ministers of his fither at first began to tremble 
for their former justice in the administratioii of their duty ; but 
he soon eased them of their fears, by taking them into his 
friendship and confidence. 

3. Sir William Gascoigne, who thought himself the most ob- 
noxious, met with praises instead of reproaches, and was ex- 
horted to persevere in the same rigorous and impartial execu- 
tion of justice. 

4. About this time the heresy of W^ickliife, or LoUardism, as 
it was called, began to spread every day more and more, while 
it received a new lustre from the protection and preaching of 
Sir John Oldcastle, baron of Cobham, who had been one of the 
king's domestics, and stood high in favour. 

6. The primate, however, indicted this nobleman, and with 
the assistance of his suffragans, condemned him as a heretu to 
be burnt alive. Cobham, however, escaping from the Tower, 
in which he was confined, the day before his execution, private- 
ly went among his party ; and stimulating their zeal led them 
up to London, to take a signal revenge on his enemies. 

6. But the king, apprised of his intentions, ordered that the 
city gates should be shut ; and coming by night with his guards 
into St. Giles's field, seized such of the conspirators as appeared, 
and afterwards laid hold of several parties that were hastening 
to the appointed place. 

7. Some of these were executed, but the greater number par- 
doned. Cobham himself found means of escaping for that time ; 
but he was taken about four years after ; and never did the 
cruelty of man invent, or crimes draw down such torments, as 
he was made to endure. He was hung up with a chain by the 
middle, and thus at a slow fire burned or rather roasted alive. 

8. Henry, to turn the minds of the people from such hideous 
icenes, resolved to take the advantage of the troubles in which 



78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 17, 

France was at that time engaged, and assembling a great fleet 
and army at Southampton, landed at Harfieur, at the head of an 
army of six thousand men at arms, and twenty-four thousand 
foot, mostly archers. 

9. But although the enemy made but a feeble resistance, yet 
the climate seemed to fight against the English ; a contagious 
dysentery carrying of three parts of Henry's army. The Eng- 
lish monarch, when it was too late, began to repent of his rash 
inroad into a county where disease and a powerful army every 
where threatened destruction ; he therefore began to think of 
retiring to Calais. 

10. The enemy, however, resolved to intercept his retreat ; 
and after he had passed the river of Tertrois at Blangi, he was 
surprised to observe from the heights the whole French army 
drawn up in the plains of Azincourt ; and so posted that it was 
impossible for him to proceed on his march without coming to 
an engagement. 

1 1 . No situation could be more unfavourable than that in 
which he found himself; liis army was wasted with disease, the 
soldiers were worn dov/n with fatigue, destitute of provisions, 
and discouraged by their retreat. Their whole body amounted 
but to nine thousand men ; and these were to sustain tlie shock 
of an enemy near ten times their number, headed by expert 
generals, and plentifully supplied with provisions. 

12. As the enemy were so much superior, he drew up his 
army on a narrow ground between two woods, which guarded 
each flank ; and he patiently expected in that position the attack 
of the enemy. The Constable of France was at the head of one 
army, and Henry himself with Edward duke of York, command- 
ed the other. 

13. For a time both armies, as if afraid to begin, kept silentl}' 
gazing at each other, neither willing to bieak their ranks, by 
making the onset ; v/hich Henry perceiving, with a cheerful 
countenance cried out, "My friends, since they will not begin, 
it is ours to set them the example ; come on, and the Blessed 
Trinity be our protection." 

14. Upon this the whole army set forward with a shout, while 
the French still waited their approach with intrepidity. The 
English archers, who had long been famous for their skill, first 
let fly a shower of arrows three feet long, which did great exe- 
cution. The French cavalry advancing to repel these, two hun- 
dred bowmen who lay till then concealed, rising on a sudden, 
let fly among them, and produced such a confusion, that the 
archers threw by their arrows, and rushing in, fell upon them 
ftword in hand. 

16. The French at first repulsed the assailants, who were 



Chap. 17. HENRr V. 79 

enfeebled by disease, but they soon made up the defect by their 
valour ; and resolving to conquer or die, burst in upon the ene- 
my with sucli impetuosity, that the French were soon obliged 
to give way. 

16. They were overtlirown in every part of the field ; their 
numbers being crowded into a very narrow space, were incapa- 
ble of either flyin«;or making any resistance, so that they cover- 
ed the ground with heaps of slain. After all appearance of op- 
position was over, there was heard an alarm from behind, which 
proceeded from a number of peasants, who had fallen upon the 
English baggage, and were putting those who guarded it to the 
sword. 

17. Henry, now seeing the enemy on all sides of him, began 
to entertain apprehensions of his prisoners, the number of which 
exceeded even that of his army. He thought it necessary, 
therefore, to issue general orders for patting them to death ; but 
on the discovery of the certainty of his victory he stopped the 
slaughter, and was still able to save a great number. 

18. This severity tarnished the glory which his victory u'ould 
otherwise have acquired ; but all the heroism of that age is tinc- 
tured with barbarity. In this battle the French lost ten thou- 
sand men, and fourteen thousand prisoners ; the English only for- 
ty men in all. 

19. France was at that time in a wretched situation : . t^ 
the whole kingdom appeared as one vast theatre of crimes, |],<«7* 
murders, injustice, and devastation. The duke of Orleans 

was assassinated by the duke of Burgundy ; and the duke of 
Burgundy in his turn fell by the treachery of the dauphin. 

20. A state of imbecility into which Charles had fallen, made 
him passive in every transaction ; and Henry at last, by con- 
quest and negotiation, caused himself to be elected heir to the 
crown. 

21. The principal articles of this treaty were, that Henry 
should espouse the princess Catharine, daughter to the king of 
France ; that king Ch;\rles should enjoy the title and dignity for 
life ; but that Henry should be declared heir to the crown, and 
should be entrusted with the present administration of the go- 
vernment ; that France and England should for ever be united 
under one king, but should still retain their respective laws and 
privileges. 

22. In consequence of this, while Henry was every . j. 
where victorious, he fixed his residence in Paris ; and /^gi' 
while Charles had but a small court, he was attended with 

a very magnificent one. On Whit Sunday the two kings and 
their two queens, with crowns on their heads, dined together in 
public ; Charles receiving apparent homage, but Henry com- 
manding with absolute authority. 



80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 1«. 

23. Henry, at a time when his glory had nearly reached its 
summit, and both crowns were just devolved upon him, was seiz- 
ed with a tistula ; a disorder which from the unskilfulness of the 
physicians of the times, soon became mortal. He expired with 
the same intrepidity with which he had lived, in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age and the tenth year of his reign. 



CHAPTER XVHI.— Henry VI. 

jL r\ 1 • The duke of Bedford, one of the most accomplished 
1422 * P^'i'^c^^ of the age, and equally experienced, both in the 
cabinet and the field, was appointed by parliament pro- 
tector of England, defender of the church, and first counsellor to 
the king, during his minority, as he was not a year old, and as 
France was the great object that engrossed all consideration, he 
attempted to exert the efforts of the nation upon the continent 
with all his vigour. 

2. A new revolution was produced in that kingdom, by means 
apparently the most unlikely to be attended with success. 

3. In the village of Domreni, near Vaucolours, on the bor- 
ders of Lorraine, there lived a country girl about twenty -seven 
years of age, called Joan of Arc. This girl bad been a servant 
at a small inn ; and in that humble station had submitted to those 
hardy employments which fit the body for the fatigues of war. 

4. She was of an irreproachable life, and had hitherto testified 
none of those enterprising qualities which displayed themselves 
aoon after. Her mind, however, brooding with melancholy sted- 
fastness upon the miserable situation of her country, began to feel 
several impulses, which she was willing to mistake ibr the inspir- 
ations of heaven. 

5. Convinced of the reality of her own admonitions, she had 
recourse to one Baudricourt, governor of Vaucolours, and in- 
formed him of her destination by heaven to free her native coun- 
try from its fierce invaders. 

6. Baudricourt treated her at first with some neglect ; but her 
importunities at length prevailed ; and willing to make a trial of 
her pretensions, he gave her some attendants, who conducted 
her to the French court, which at that time resided at Chinon. 

7. The French court were probably sensible of tho weakness 
of her pretensions ; but they were willing to makause of every 
artifice to support their declining fortunes. 

8. It was therefore given out that Joan was actually inspired ; 
that she was able to discover the king among the number of his 
courtiers, although he had hid aside all the distinctions of his 
authority ; that she had toid him some secrets which were only 



Chap. 18. HENRY VI. 81 

known to himself; and that she had demanded, and minutely de- 
scribed a sword in the church of St. Catharine de Fierbois, 
which she had never seen. 

9. In this manner the minds of the vulgar being prepared for 
her appearance, she was armed cap-a-pee, mounted on a char- 
ger, and shown in that martial dress to the people. 

10. She was then brought before the doctors of the university ; 
and they, tmctured with the credulity of the times, or willing to 
second the imposture, declared that she had actually received 
her commission from above. 

1 1 . When the preparations for her mission were completely 
blazoned, their next aim was to send her against the enemy. 
The English were at that time besieging the city of Orleans, the 
last recourse of Charles, and every thing promised them a speedy 
surrender. 

12. Joan undertook to raise the siege ; and to render herself 
still more remarkable, girded herself with the miraculous sword 
of which she had before such extraordinary notices. Thus equip- 
ed she ordered all the soldiers to confess themselves before 
they set out, she displayed in her hand a consecrated banner, 
and assured the troops of certain success. 

13. Such confidence on her side soon raised the spirits of the 
French army ; and even the English, who pretended to despise 
her efforts, felt themselves secretly influenced with the terrors 
of her mission, and relaxing in their endeavours the siege was 
raised with great precipitation. 

14. From being attacked, the French now in turn became ag- 
gressors. One victory followed another, and at length the French 
king was solemnly crowned atRheims, which was what Joan had 
promised should come to pass. 

15. A tide of successes followed the performance of this solem- 
nity ; but Joan having thrown herself with a body of troops into 
the city of Compeign, which was then besieged by the duke of 
Burgundy, she was taken prisoner in a sally which she head- 
ed against the enemy, the governor shutting the gates behind. 

16. The duke of Bedford was no sooner informed of her being 
taken, than he purchased her of tlie count Vendome, who had 
made her his prisoner, and ordered her to be committed to close 
confinement. 

1 7. The credulity of both nations was at that time so great 
that nothing was too absurd to gain belief that coincided with 
their passions. 

18. As Joan but a little before, from her successes, was re- 
garded as a saint, she was now upon her captivity considered as 
a sorceress, forsaken by the demon who had granted her a falla- 
cious and temporary assistance ; and accordingly being tried at 

D :2 



82 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. It. 

Rouen, she was fownd guilty of heresy and witchcraft, and sen- 
tenced to be burnt alive, which was executed accordingly, with 
the most ignorant malignity. 

19. From this period the EngHsh affairs became totally irre- 
trievable. The city of Paris returned once more to a sense oi 
its duty. Thus ground was continually, though slowly gained 
by the French. 

* Yy 20. And in the lapse of a few years Calais alone re- 
1 44S '^^i'^^^ of all the conquests that had been made in France , 
and this was but a small compensation for the blood and 
treasure which had been lavished in that country, and which only 
served to gratify ambition with transient applause. 

2^1. But the incapacity of Henry began to appear in a fuller 
light ; and foreign war being now extinguished, the people be- 
gan to prepare for the horrors of intestine strife. In this period 
of calamity a new interest was revived, which had lain dormant 
in the times of prosperity and triumph. 

22. Richard, duke of York, was descended by the mothers 
side, from Lionel, one of the sons of Edward III. whereas the 
reigning king was descended from John of Gaunt, a younger 
son of the same monarch. Richard, therefore, stood plainly in 
succession before Henry ; and he began to think the weakness 
and unpopularity of the present reign a favourable moment for 
ambition. 

23. The ensign of Richard was a white rose, that of Henry, a 
red ; and this gave name to the two factions, whose animosity 
was now about to drench the kingdom with slaughter. 

24. Among the number of complaints which the unpopularity 
of the government gave rise to, there were some which even ex- 
cited insurrection ; particularly that headed by John Cade, which 
was of the most dangerous nature. 

25. This man was a native of Ireland, who had been obliged 
to fly over into France for his crimes ; but seeing tlie people 
upon his return prepared for violent measures, he assumed the 
name of Mortimer, and at the head of twenty thousand Kentish 
men advanced towards the capital and encamped at Blackheath. 

26. The king being informed of this commotion, sent a mes- 
sage to demand the cause of their assembling in arms, and Cade, 
in the name of their community, answered that their only aim 
was to punish evil ministers, and procure a redress of grievances 
for the people. 

27. But committing some abuses, and engaging with the citi- 
zens, he was abandoned by most of his followers ; and retreating 
to Rochester, was obliged to fly alone into the woods of Kent, 
where a price being set upon his head by proclamation, he was 
discovered and slain. 



Chap. 18. HENRY VI. 85 

28. In the mean time the duke of York secretly fomented 
these disturbances, and pretending to espouse the cause of the 
people, slill secretly aspired to the crown, and though he wished 
nothing so ardently, yet he was for some time prevented by his 
own scruples from seizing it. 

29. What his intrigues failed to bring about, accident produc- 
ed to his desire. The king falling into a distemper, which so 
far increased his natural imbecility, that it even rendered hinr» 
incapable of maintaining the appearance of royalty ; York was 
appointed lieutenant and protector of the kingdom, with powers 
to hold and open parliaments at pleasure. 

30. Being thus invested with a plenitude of power, ^ t-v 
he continued in the enjoyment of it for some time ; but ^a^ia 
at length the unhappy king recovering from his lethargic 
complaint, and as if awakening from a dream, perceived with 
surprise that he was stripped of all his authority. 

31. Henry was married to Margaret of Anjou, a woman of a 
masculine understanding, who obliged him to take the field, and 
in a manner dragged him to it, v/here both armies came to an 
engagement, in which the Yorkists gained a complete victory. 
The king himself being wounded, and taking shelter in a cottage 
near the tield of battle, was taken prisoner, and treated by the 
victor with great respect and tenderness. 

32. Henrj'^ was now but a prisoner treated with the splendid 
forms of royalty ; yet indolent and sickly, he seemed pleased 
with his situation, and did not regret the loss of that power 
which was not to be exercised without fatigue. 

33. But Margaret once more induced him to assert ^ oo 
his prerogative. The contending parties met atBlore- ' *^^i*ir q* 
heath, on the borders of Staffordshire, and the York- ' "^ * 
ists gained some advantages ; but Sir Andrew Trollop, who com 
manded a body of veterans for the dake of York, deserted with 
ail his men to the king, and this so intimidated the whole army 
of the Yorkists, that they sep;u'ated the next day without strik- 
ing a single blow. 

34. Several other engagements followed with various success 
Margaret being at one time victorious, at another an exile, the 
victory upon Wakfield Green, in which the duke of York was 
fclain, seemed to tix her good fortune. 

35. But the earl of Warwick, who now put himself at the 
head of the Yorkists, was one of the most celebrated generals of 
his age, formed for times of trouble, extremely artful, andincon- 
testibiy brave ; equally skilful in council and the field, and in- 
spired with a degree of hatred against the queen, that nothing 
could suppress. 

3G. He commanded an army in which he led about the captive 



U HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 10 

king to give a sanction to his attempt. Upon the approach of the 
Lancastrians he conducted his forces, strengthened by a body of 
Londoners, who were very affectionate to his cause, and gave 
battle to the queen at St. Albans. In tliis however he was de- 
feated. 

37. About two thousand of the Yorkists perished in the battle, 
and the person of the king again fell into the hands of his own 
party, to be treated with apparent respect, but real contempt. 

38. In the mean time, young Edward, the eldest son of the 
late duke of York, began to repair the losses his party had late- 
ly sustained, and to give spirit to the Yorkists. This prince, in 
the bloom of his youth, remarkable for the beauty of his person^ 
his bravery and popular deportment, advanced towards London 
with the remainder of Warwick's army, and obliging Margaret 
to retire, entered the city amidst the acclamations of the people. 
A rv 39. Perceiving his own popularity, he supposed that 

'p. * now was the time to lay his claim to the crown, and his 

friend Warwick, assembling the citizens in St. John's 

fields, pronounced an harangue, setting forth the title of Edward, 

and inveighing against the tyranny and usurpation of the house 

of Lancaster. 

40. Both sides at length met near Touton, in the county of 
York, to decide the fate of empire, and never was England de- 
populated by so terrible an engagement. It was a dreadful sight 
to behold a hundred thousand men of the same country engaged 
against each other, and all to satisfy the empty ambition of the 
weakest or the worst of mankind. 

41. While the army of Edward was advancing to the charge, 
there happened a great fall of snow, which driving full in the 
faces of the enemy, blinded them, and this advantage, seconded 
by an impetuous onset, decided the victory in their favour. Ed- 
ward issued orders to give no quarter, and a bloody slaughter 
ensued, ia which near forty thousand of the Lancastrians were 
slain. 

42. The weak, unfortunate Henry, always imprudent and al- 
ways unsuccessful, was taken prisoner, carried to London with 
ignominy, and confined in the Tower. Margaret was rather more 
fortunate, she contrived to escape out of the kingdom, and took 
refuge with her father in Flanders. 

43. Edward being now, by means of the earl of Warwick, 
fixed upon the throne, reigned in peace and security, while his 
title was recognized by parliament, and universally submitted to 
by the people. 

A D 44. He began, therefore, to give a loose to his favour- 

1464 ^^^ passions, and a spirit of gallantry mixed with cruelty, 

was seen to prevail in his court, in the very same pa~ 



t 
Chap. 18. HENRY VI. €5 

lace, which one day exhibited a spectacle of horror, was to be 
seen the day following a ma?k or a pageant ; and the king would 
at once gallant a mistress, and inspect an execution. 

45. In order to turn him from these pursuits, which were cal- 
culated to render him unpopular, the earl of Warwick advised 
him to marry ; and with his consent, went over to France to 
procure Bona of Savoy as queen, and the match was accordingly 
concluded. 

46. But whilst the earl was hastening the negotiation in France 
the king himself rendered it abortive at home, by marrying Eli- 
zabeth Woodville, with whom he had fallen in love, and whom 
he had vainly endeavoured to debauch. 

47. Having thus given Warwick real cause of offence, he was 
resolved to widen the breach, by driving him from the council. 
Warwick, whose prudence was equal to his bravery, soon made 
use of both to assist his revenge ; and formed such a combina- 
tion against Edward, that he was in turn obliged to fly the king- 
dom. 

48. Thus, once more, the poor passive king Henry was re- 
leased from prison to be placed upon a dangerous throne. A 
parliament was called, which confirmed Henry's title with great 
solemnity, and Warwick was himself received, among the people, 
under the title of the king-maker. 

49. But Edward's party, though repressed, was not destroy- 
ed. Though an exile in Holland, he had many partizans at home ; 
and after an absence of nine months, being seconded by a small 
body of forces granted him by the duke of Burgundy, he made 
a descent at Ravenspur in Yorkshire. 

50. Though at first he was coolly received by the English, yet 
his army increased upon his march, while his moderation and 
feigned humility still added to the number of his partizans. 

61. London, at that time ever ready to admit the most pow- 
erful, opened her gates to him ; and the wretched Henry was 
once more plucked from his throne, to be sent back to his form- 
er mansion. 

52. Nothing now, therefore, remained to Warwick, but to cut 
shoit a state of anxious suspense by hazarding a battle. Edward's 
fortune prevailed. They met at St. Albans, and the Lancastri- 
ans were defeated, while Warwick himself, leading a chosen body 
of troops into the thickest of the slaughter, fell in the midst of 
his enemies, covered with wounds. 

53. Margaret, receiving the fatal news of the death of the 
brave Warwick, and the total destruction of her party, gave way 
to her grief, for the first time, in a torrent of tears, and yielding 
to her unhappy fate, took sanctuary in the abbey of Beaulieu. in 
Hampshire. 



86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. IP 

64. She had not been long in this melancholy abode, before 
she found some new friends still willing to assist her fallen for- 
tunes. Tudor, earl of Pembroke, Courtney, earl of Devonshire, 
the lord Wenlock, and St. John, with other men of rank, ex- 
horted her still to hope for success, and offered to assist her to 
the last. 

65. She had now fought battles in almost every province of 
England ; Tcwksbury park was the last scene that terminated her 
attempts. The duke of Somerset headed her army ; a man who 
hid shared her dangers, and had ever been steady in her cause. 

66. He was valiant, generous, and polite ; but rash and head- 
strong. When Edward first attacked htln in his entrenchments, 
he repulsed him with such vigour, that the enemy retired with 
precipitation ; upon which the duke, supposing them routed, 
pursued, and ordered !ord Wenlock to support his charge. 

67. But, unfortunately, this lord disobeyed his orders, and 
Somerset's forces were soon overpowered by numbers. In this 
dreadful exigence, the duke rindmg that all was over, became 
ungovernable in his rage ; and beholding Wenlock inactive, and 
remaining in the very j)lace where he had first drawn up his 
men, giving way to his fury, with his heavy battle axe in both 
hands, he ran upon tlie coward, and with one blow dashed out 
his brains. 

68. The queen and the prince were taken prisoners after the 
battle, and brought into the presence of Edward. The young 
prince appeared before the conqueror with undaunted majesty ; 
and being asked in an insulting manner, how he dared to invade 
England without leave, the young prince, more mindful of his 
high birth than of his ruined fortune, replied, " I have entered 
the dominions of my father, to revenge his injuries and redress 
my own. 

69. The barbarous Edward, enraged at his intrepidity, struck 
him on the mouth with his gauntlet ; and this served as a signal 
for further brutality ; the dvd^es of Gloucester, Clarence, and 
others, like wild beasts, rushing on the unarmed youth at once, 
stabbed him to the heart with their daggers. 

60. To complete the tragedy, Henry himself, who had long 
been the passive spectator of all these horrors, was now thought 
unfit to live. The duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard HI. 
entering his chaniber alone, murdered him in cold blood. Of 
all those that were taken, none were suffered to live but Marga- 
ret herself. 

61. It was perhaps expected that slie would be ransomed by 
the king of France, and in that they were not deceived, as that 
monarch paid the king of England fifty thousand crowns for her 
freedom. 



Chap. 19. EDWARD IV. 87 

62. Thia extraordinary woman, after having sustained the 
cause of her husband in twelve buttles, after having survived her 
friends, fortunes and children, died a few years after in privacy 
in France, very miserable indeed ; but with few other claims ta 
our pity, except her courage and her distresses. 



CHAPTER XIX.— Edward IV. 

1. Edward being now freed from great enemies, turned the 
punishment to those of lesser note ; so that the gibbets were hung 
with his adversaries, and their estates confiscated to his use. 

2. While he was thus rendering himself terrible on the one 
hand, he was immersed in abandoned pleasures on the other. 
Nature it seems was not unfavourable to him in that respect ; as 
he was universally allowed to be the most beautiful man of his time. 

3. His courtiers also seemed willing to encourage those de- 
baucheries in which they had a share ; and the clergy, as they 
themselves practised every kind of lewdness with impunity, were 
ever ready to lend absolution to all his failings. The truth is, that 
enormous vices had been of late so common, that adultery was 
held but a very slight offence. 

4. Among the number of his mistresses vras the wife of one 
Shore, a merchant in the city, a woman of exquisite beauty 'and 
good sense, but who had not virtue enough to resist the tempta-^ 
tions of a beautiful man, and a monarch. 

5. Among his other cruelties, that to his brother, the duke of 
Clarence, is the most remarkable. The king hunting one day in 
the park of Thomas Burdet, a creature of the duke's, killed a 
white buck, which was a great favourite of the owner. 

6. Burdet, vexed at the loss, broke into a passion, and wished 
the horns of the deer in the belly of the person who had advised 
the king to that insult. For this trifling exclamation Burdet was 
tried for his life, and publicly executed at Tj^burn. ' 

7. The duke of Clarence, upon the death of his friend, vented 
his grief, and renewed his reproaches against his brother, and 
exclaimed against the iniquity of the sentence. Thus the king, 
highly offended with this liberty, or using that as a pretext against 
him. had him arraigned before the house of peers, and appeared 
in person as his accuser. 

8. In those times of confusion, every crime alleged by the pre- 
vailing party was fatal ; the duke was found guilty, and being 
granted a choice of the manner in which he would die, he was 
privately drowned in a butt of malmsey in the Tower ; a whimsi- 
cal choice, and implying that he had an extraordinary passion 
for that liquor. 



88 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 20, 

9. However, if this monarch's reign was tyrannical, it was but 
short ; while he was emplo3'ed in making preparations for a war 
with France, he was seized with a distemper, of which he ex- 
pired, in the forty-second year of his age, and (counting from the 
death of the late king,) in the twenty-third of his reign. 



CHAPTER XX.— Edward V. 

1. The duke of Gloucester, who had been made protector of 
the realm, upon a pretence of guarding the persons of the late 
king's children from danger, conveyed them both to the Tower. 

2. Having thus secured them, his next step was to spread a 
report of their illegitimacy ; and by pretended obstacles to put 
off the day appointed for young Edward's coronation. His next 
aim was to despatch lord Hastings, whom he knew to be warmly 
in the young king's interest. 

3. Having summoned lord Hastings to a council in the Tower, 
he entered the room knitting his brows, biting his lips, and show- 
ing by a frequent change of countenance, the signs of some in- 
ward perturbation. A silence ensued for some time ^ and the 
lords of the council looked upon each other, not without reason, 
expecting some horrid catastrophe. 

4. Laying bare his arm, all shrivelled and decayed, he accus- 
ed Jane Shore and her accomplices of having produced this de- 
formity by their sorceries, upon which Hastings cried, " If they 
have committed such a crime they deserve punishment !" 

5. " If, (cried the protector with a loud voice,) dost thou an- 
swer me with Ifs ? I tell thee that they have conspired my death ; 
and that thou, traitor, art an accomplice in the crime." He then 
struck the table twice with his hand, and the room was instantly 
filled with armed men. " I arrest thee," continues he, turning 
to Hastings, " for high treason ;" at the same time gave him in 
charge to tlie soldiers. 

6. Hastings was obliged to make a short confession to the next 
priest that was at hand, the protector crying out, by St. Paul, 
that he would not dine till he had seen his head taken oflf. He 
was accordingly hurried out to a httle green before the Tower 
chapel, and there beheaded on a log that accidentally lay in the 
way. 

7. Jane Shore, the late king's mistress, was the next that felt 
his indignation. This unfortunate woman was an enemy too hum- 
ble to excite his jealousy, vet as he had accused her of witch- 
craft, of which ail the world say she was innocent, he thought 
proper to make her an example for those faults of which she was 
really guilty. 



(5hap. 21. RICHARD III. 

8. Jane Shore had been formerly dehided from her husband 
who was a goldsmith in Lombard-street, and continued to live 
with Edward. It is very probable that the people were not dis- 
pleased at seeing one again reduced to former meanness, who had 
for a while been raised above them, and enjoyed the smiles of a 
court. 

9. The charge against her was too notorious to be denied • 
she pleaded guilty, and was accordingly condemned to walk bare- 
foot through the city, and do penance in St. Paul's church in a 
white sheet, with a wax taper in her hand, before thousands of 
spectators. She lived above forty years after this sentence, and 
was reduced to the most extreme indigence. 

JO. The protector now began to throw oif the mask, and to 
deny his pretended regard for the sons of the late king, thinking 
it high time to aspire to the throne more openly. He had pre- 
viously gained over the duke of Buckingham, a man of talents 
and power, by bribes and promises of future favour. 

11. This nobleman, therefore, used all his arts to cajole the 
populace and citizens at St. Paul's cross, and construing their 
iilence into consent, his followers cried, " Long live king Rich- 
ard." Soon after, the mayor and aldermen waiting upon Rich- 
ard with an offer of the crown, he accepted it with seeming re-* 
luctance. 



CHAPTER XXL— Richard HI. 

1. One crime ever draws on another ; justice will re- . y% 
volt against fraud, and usurpation requires security. As ^]i«o 
soon, therefore, as Richard was seated upon the throne, 

he sent the governor of the Tower orders to put the two young 
princes to death ; but this brave man, w hose name was Brack- 
enbury, refused to be made the instrument of a tyrant's will, 
and submissively answered, that he knew not how to imbrue his 
hands in innocent blood. 

2. A fit instrument, hov/ever, was not long wanting ; Sir James 
Tyrrel readily undertook the office, and Brackenbury was or- 
dered to resign to him the keys for one night. Tyrrel, choosing 
three associates, Slater, Deighton and Forrest, came in the night 
time to the door of the chamber where the princes were lodged, 
and sending in the assassins, he bid them execute their commis- 
sion, while he himself staid without. 

3. They found the young princes in bed, and fallen into a sound 
sleep ; after suffocating them with the bolster and pillows, they 
showed their naked bodies to Tyrrel, who ordered them to be 
buried at the stair foot, deep in the ground, under a heap of stones. 



90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap.SJ, 

4. But while he thus endeavoured to establish his power, he; 
found it threatened on a quarter where he least expected an at- 
tack. The duke of Buckingham, who had been instrumental in 
placing hinri on the throne, now took disgust at being refused some 
confiscated lands for which he solicited. 

5. He, therefore, levied a body of men in Wales, and advanc- 
ed by hasty marches towards Gloucester, where he designed to 
cross the Severn. Just at that time the river was swollen to such 
a degree, that the country on both sides was deluge>d, and even 
the tops of some hills were covered with water. 

6. This inundation continued for ten days, during which Buck^ 
Ingham's army, composed of Welshmen, could neither pass the 
river, nor find subsistence on their own side ; they were there- 
fore obliged to disperse and return home, notwithstanding all the" 
duke's eiforts to prolong their stay. 

7. In this helpless situation the duke, after a short delibera- 
tion, took refuge at the house of one Bannister, who had been 
his servant, and who had received repeated obligations from 
his family ; but the wicked seldom find, as they seldom exert, 
friendship. 

8. Bannister, unable to resist the temptation of a large reward 
that was set upon the duke's head, went and betrayed him to the 
sheriff of Shropshire ; who, surrounding the house with armed 
men, seized the duke in the habit of a peasant, and conducted 
him to Salisbury ; where he was instantly tried, condemned, ana 
executed,accordingto the summary method practisedin those ages. 

9. Amidst the perplexity caused by many disagree.able occur- 
rences, he received information that the earl of Richmond was 
making preparations to land in England, and assert his claims to 
the crown. Richard, who knew not in what quarter he might 
expect the invader, had taken post at Nottingham, in the centre 
of the kingdom, and had given commissions to several of his 
creatures to oppose the enemy wherever he should land. 

10. Some time after, however, tne earl of Richmond, who 
was a descendent from John of Gaunt, by the female line, re- 
solved to strike for the crown. 

11. He had long been obnoxious to the house of York, and 
had been obliged to quit the kingdom ; but knowing how odious 
the king now was, he set out from Harfleur in Normandy, wdth 
a retinue of about two thousand persons ; and after a voyage of 
six days arrived at Milford haven in Wales, where he landed 
without opposition 

12. Upon news of this descent, Richard, who was possessed 
of courage and military conduct, his only virtues, instantly re- 
solved to meet his antagonist, and decide their mutual preten- 
sions by a battle 



Chap. 22. HENRY VIL ^t 

? 13. Richmond on the other hand, being reinforced by Sir Tho- 
mas Bourcheir, Sir Walter Hungerford, and others, to the num- 
ber of about six thousand, boldly advanced with the same intention 
14. And in a few days both armies drew near Bosworth field, 
where the contest, that had now for more thsm forty years filled 
the kingdom with civil commotions, and deluged its pkins with 
blood, was determined by the death of Richard, who was slain in 
battle, while Richmond was saluted king, by the title of Henry 
the seventh. 



CHAPTER XXn.— Heniiy VH. 

1. Henry's first care upon coming to the throne was . y. 
to marry the princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward the /^^n / 
fourth, and thus he blended the interests of the houses of 
York and Lancaster, so that ever after they were incapable of 
distinction. 

2. A great part of the miseries of his. predecessors proceeded 
from their poverty, which was mostly occasioned by riot and dis- 
sipation. Henry saw that money alone could turn the scale of 
power in his favour, and therefore hoarded up all the confisca- 
tions of his enemies with the utmost frugality. 

3. Immediately after his marriage with Elizabeth, he issued a 
general pardon to all such as chose to accept it ; but people were 
become so turbulent and factious, by a long course of civil war, 
that no governor could rule them, nor any king please ; so that 
one rebellion seemed extinguished only to give rise to another. 

4. There lived in Oxford, one Richard Simon, a priest, who 
possessing some subtilty, and more rashness, trained up Lambert 
Simnel, a baker's son, to counterfeit the person of the earl of 
Warwick the son of the duke of Clarence, who was smothered 
in a butt*f malmsey. 

6. But as the impostor was not calculated to bear a close in- 
spection, it was thought proper to show him first at a distance, 
and Irehind was judged the fittest theatre for him to support his 
assumed character. 

6. In this manner king Simnel, being joined by lord Lovel, and 
one or two lords more of the discontented party, resolved to pass 
over into England, and accordingly landed in Lancashire, from 
whence he marched to York, expecting the country would rise 
and join him as he marched along. 

7. But in this he was deceived ; the people, averse to join a 
body of German and Irish troops, by whom he was supported, 
and keptinaweby theking's reputation, remained in tranquillity, 
or gave all their assistance to the royal cause. 



U HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap, n 

8. The earl of Lincoln, therefore, a disaffected lord, to whom 
the command of the rebel army was given, finding no hopes but 
in speedy victory, was determined to bring the contest to a shoit 
issue. 

9. The opposite armies met at Stoke, in the county of Not- 
tingham, and fought a battle, which was more bloody, and more 
obstinately disputed, than could have been expected, from the 
inequality of the forces. 

10. But victory at length declared in favour of the king, and 
it proved decisive. Lord Lincoln perished in the field of battle ; 
lord Lovel was never more heard of, and it was supposed he 
shared the same fate. 

11. Simnel, with his tutor Simon, were tj»ken prisoners, and 
four thousand of the common men fell in battle. Simon being a 
priest could not be tried by the civil power, and was only com- 
mitted to close confinement. Simnel was too contemptible to 
excite the king's fears or resentment, he was pardoned and made 
a scullion in the king's kitchen, whence he was afterwards ad- 
vanced to the rank of falconer, in which mean employment he died. 

12. A fresh insurrection began in Yorkshire, the people re- 
sisting the commissioners who were appointed to levy the tax. 
The earl of Northumberland attempted to enforce the king's 
command, but the populace, being by this taught to believe, that 
he was the adviser of their oppressions, flew to arms, attacked 
his house, and put him to death. 

13. The mutineers did not stop there, but by the advice of 
John Achamber, a seditious fellow of mean birth, they chose sir 
John Egremont for their leader, and prepared themselves for a 
vigorous resistance. 

14. The king, upon hearing this rash proceeding, immediately 
levied a force, which he put under the earl of Surry ; and this 
nobleman encountering the rebels, dissipated the tumult, and took 
their leader Achamber prisoner. ♦ 

15. Achamber was shortly after executed ; but sir John Egre- 
mont fled to the court of the duchess of Burgundy, the usual re- 
treat of all who were obnoxious to the government of England. 

. j^ 16. One would have imagined, that from the ill success 
14QO of Simnel's imposture, few would be willing to embark in 
another of a similar kind ; however the old duchess of 
Burgundy, rather irritated than discouraged by the failure of her 
past enterprises, was determined to disturb that government, 
which she could not subvert. 

17. She first procured a report to be spread, that the young 
duke of York, said to have been murdered in the Tower, was 
still living, and finding the rumour greedily received, she soon 
produced a young man, who assumed his name and character. 



Chap. 22. HENRY VII. &S 

18. The person pitched upon to sustain this part, was one Os- 
beck, or Warbeck, the son of a converted Jew, who had been 
over in England during the reign of Edward IV. where he had 
this son named Peter, but corrupted after the Flemish manner, 
into Peterkin, or Perkin. 

19. The duchess of Burgundy found this youth entirely suited 
to her purposes ; and her lessons, instructing him to personate 
the duke of York, were easily learned, and strongly retained, by 
a youth of very quick apprehensions. 

20. In short, his graceful air, his courtly address, his easy 
manners, and elegant conversation, were capable of imposing 
upon all but such as were conscious of the imposture. 

21. The English, ever ready to revolt, gave credit to all these 
absurdities, while the young man's prudence, conversation, and 
deportment, served to confirm what their disaffection and credu- 
lity had begun. 

22. Among those who secretly abetted the cause of Perkin^ 
were lord Fitzwater, sir Simon Mountfort, sir Thomas Thwaits, 
and sir Robert Ciiflford. But the person of the greatest weight, 
and the most dangerous opposition, was sir William Stanley, the 
lord Chamberlain, and brother to the famous lord Stanley, who 
had contributed to place Henry on the throne. 

23. This personage, either moved by a blind credulity, or 
more probably by a restless ambition, entered into a regular con- 
spiracy against the king, and a correspondence was settled be- 
tween the malecontents in England and those in Flanders. 

24. While the plot was thus carrying on in all quarters, Hen- 
ry was not inattentive to the designs of his enemies. He spared 
neither labour nor expense to detect the falsehood of the pretend- 
er to his crown ; and was equally assiduous in finding out who 
were his secret abettors. . 

26. For this purpose he dispersed his spies throughout all 
Flanders, and brought over by large bribes, some of those whom 
he knew to be in the enemies' interests. 

26. Among these, Sir Robert Clifford was the most remarl^a- 
ble, both for his consequence, and the confidence with which he 
was trusted. 

27. From this person Henry learnt the whole of Perkin's birth 
and adventures, together with the names of all those who had 
secretly combined to assist him. The king was pleased with the 
discovery ; but the more trust he gave to his spies, the higher 
resentment did he feign against them. 

28. At first he was struck with indignation at the ingratitude of 
many of those about him ; but concealing his resentment for £^pro- 
per opportunity, he almost at the same instant, arrested Fitzwa- 
ter, Mountfort, and Thwaits, together with William Danbery, 



94 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 22 

Robert Ratcliff, Thomas Cressenor, and Thomas Astwood. All 
these were arraigHed, convicted, and condemned for high treason. 
Mountfort, Ratclift*, and Danbery, were immediately executed, 
the rest received pardon. 

29. The young adventurer finding his hopes frustrated in 
England, went next to try his fortune in Scotland. In that coun- 
try his luck seemed greater than in Eiigland. James the fourth, 
the king of that country, received him with great cordiality ; he 
was seduced to believe the story of his birth and adventures, 
and he carried his confidence so far as to give him in marriage 
lady Catharine Gordon, daughter to the earl of Huntley, and 
near kinswoman of his own ; a young lady eminent for virtue as 
well as beauty. 

30. But not content with these instances of favour, he was re- 
solved to attempt setting him on the throne of England. It was 
naturally expected that upon Perkin's first appearance in that 
kingdom, all the friends of the house of York would rise in his 
favour. 

31. Upon this ground, therefore, the king of Scotland enter- 
ed England with a numerous army, and proclaimed the young 
adventurer wherever he went. But Perkin's pretensions, at- 
tended by repeated disappointments, where now become stale 
even in the eyes of the populace ; so that contrary to expecta- 
tion, none were found to second his pretensions. 

. ,^ 32. In this manner the restlefc»« Perkin being dismdss- 

* * ed Scotland, and meetingwith a very cold reception from 

the Flemings who now desired to be at peace with the 

English, resolved to continue his scheme of opposition ; and took 

refuge among the wilds and fastnesses of Ireland. 

33. Impatient of an inactive life, he held a consultation with 
his followers, Heme, Skelton, and Astley, three broken trades- 
men, and by their advice he resolved to try the affections of the 
Cornish men, and he no sooner made his appearance among them 
at Bodiman in Cornwall, than the populace, to the number of three 
thousand, flocked to his standard. 

34. Elated with this appearance of success, he took on him, 
for the first time, the title of Richard the fourth king of England : 
and, not to suffer the spirits of his adherents to languish, he led 
them to the gates of Exeter. 

35. Finding the inhabitants obstinate in refusing to admit him, 
and being unprovided with artillery to force an entrance, he 
broke up the siege of Exeter, and retired to Taunton. 

36. His followers by this time amounted to seven thousand 
men, and appeared ready to defend his cause ; but his heart fail- 
ed him, upon being informed that the king was coming down to 
oppose him ; and instead of bringing his men into the field, he 



Chap. 22. HENny VII. 95 

privately deserted them, and took sanctuary In the monastery of 
Bealieu, in the New Forest. 

37. His wretched adherents, left to the king's mercy, found 
him still willing to pardon ; and except a few of the ringleaders, 
none were treated with capital severity. At the same time some 
persons were employed to treat with Perkin, and to persuade 
him, under promise of a pardon, to deliver himself up to justice, 
and to confess and explain all the circumstances of his imposture. 

38. His affairs being totally desperate, he embraced the king's 
offer without hesitation, and quitted the sanctuary. Henry be- 
ing desirous of seeing him, he was brought to court, and conduct- 
ed through the streets of London in a kind of mock triumph, 
amidst the derision and insults of the populace, which he bore 
with the most dignified resignation. 

39. He was then compelled to sign a confession of his former 
life and conduct, which was printed and dispersed throughout 
the nation ; but it was so defective and contradictory, that in- 
stead of explaining the pretended imposture, it left it still more 
doubtful than before ; and this youth's real pretensions are to 
this very day an object of dispute among the learned. 

40. After attempting once or twice to escape from custody, 
he was hanged at Tyburn, and several of his adherents suffered 
the same ignominious death. 

41. There had been hitherto in this reign nothing but plots, 
treasons, insurrections, impostures, and executions, and it is pro- 
bable that Henry's severity proceeded from the continual alarms 
in which they held him. 

42. It is certain that no prince ever loved peace more than he, 
and much of the ill will of his subjects arose from his attempts 
to repress their inclinations for war. 

43. The usual preface to all his treaties was, " That when 
Christ came into the world peace was sung ; and when he went 
out of the world peace was bequeathed." 

44. As he had all along two points in view ; one to depress 
the nobility and clergy, and the other to exalt and humanize the 
populace ; with this view he procured an act, by which the no- 
bility were granted a power of disposing of their estates ; a law 
infinitely pleasing to the commons, and not disagreeable even to 
the nobles, since they had thus an immediate resource for sup- 
plying their taste for prodigality, and answering the demands of 
their creditors. The blow reached them in their posterity alone ^ 
but they were too ignorant to be affected by such distant dis- 
tress^. 

45. He was not less active in abridging the pope's power, 
while at the same time he professed the utmost submission to his 
tjommands, and the greatest respect for the clergy. But while 



9C HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Ghap. 23. 

he thus employed his power in lowering the influence of the no- 
bles and clergy, he was using every art lo extend the privileges 
of the people. 

46. In fact his greatest efforts were directed to promote trade 
and commerce, because this naturally introduced a spirit of li- 
berty, and disengaged them from all dependence, except upoB 
the laws and the king. Before this great aera, all our towns 
owed their original to some strong castle in the neighbourhood, 

. where some powerful lord generally resided. These were at 
once fortresses for protection, and prisons for all sorts of crimi- 
nals. 

47. In this castle there was usually a garrison, armed and pro- 
vided, depending entirely on the nobleman's support and assist- 
ance. To these seats of protection, artificers, victuallers, and 
shopkeepers, naturally resorted, and settled on some adjacent 
spot, to furnish the lord and his attendants, with all the necessa- 
ries they might require. 

48. The farmers also, and the husbandmen in the neighbour- 
hood, built their houses there, to be protected against the nume- 
rous gangs of robbers, called Robertsmen, that hid themselves 
in the woods by day, and infested the open country by night. 

49. Henry endeavoured to bring the towns from such a neigh- 
sourhood, by inviting the inhabitants to a more commercial situ- 
ation. He attempted to teach them frugality, and a just payment 
of debts, by his own example ; and never once omitted the rights 
of the merchants in all his treaties with the foreign princes. 

60. Henry having thus seen England in a great measure ci- 
vilized by his endeavours, his people paying their taxes without 
constraint, the nobles confessing subordination, the laws alone 
inflicting punishment, the towns beginning to live independently 
of the powerful, commerce every day increasing, the spirit of 
faction extinguished, and foreigners either fearing England or 
seeking its alliance, he began to see the approach of his end, 
. j^ and died of the gout in his stomach, having lived fifty-two 
- ' Q * years, and reigned twenty-three. Since the time of Al- 
fred, England had not seen such another king. He ren- 
dered his subjects powerful and happy, and wrought a greater 
change in the manners of the people, than it was possible to sup- 
pose could be effected in so short a time. 



CHAPTER XXIII.— Henry VIII. 

A T\ 1. No prince ever came to the throne with a conjunc- 

^ ' Q ' ture of circumstances more in his favour than Henry the 

• VIII. who now, in the eighteenth year of his age, under- 



€hap. 23. HENRY VIII. '9^ 

took the government of the kingdom , and ns he was at the head 
of a very formidable army, fifty thousand strong, and as a war 
with France was the most pleasing to the people, he determined 
to head his forces for the conquest of that kingdom. 

2. But France was not threatened by him alone ; the Swiss, 
on another quarter, with twenty-five thousand men, were pre- 
paring to invade it ; while Ferdinand of Arragon, whom no trea- 
ties could bind, was only waiting for a convenient opportunity oi 
attack on his side to advantage. Never was the French monarch 
in so distressed a situation, but the errors of his assailants pro- 
cured his safety. 

3. After an ostentatious but ineffectual campaign, a truce was 
concluded between the two kingdoms ; and Henry Continued to 
dissipate, in more peaceful follies, those immense sums which 
had been amassed by his predecessors for very different purposes. 

4. In this manner, while his pleasures on the one hand en- 
grossed Henry's time, the preparations lor repeated expeditions 
exhausted his treasury on the other. 

6. As it was natural to suppose the old ministers, who were 
appointed to direct him by his father, would not willingly concur 
in these idle projects, Henry had for some time discontinued 
asking their advice, and chiefly confided ia the counsels of Tho- 
mas, afterwards cardinal Wolsey, who seemed to second him in 
his favourite pursuits. 

6. Wolsey was a minister who complied with all his master's 
inclinations, and flattered him in every scheme to which his san- 
guine and impetuous temper was inclined. He was the son of a 
private gentleman, and not of a butcher of Ipswich, as is com- 
monly reported. 

7. He was sent to Oxford so early, that he was a bachelor at 
fourteen, and at that time was called the boy bachelor. He rose 
by degrees, upon quitting college, from one preferment to ano- 
ther, till he was made rector of Lymington by the marquis of Dor- 
set, whose children he had instructed. 

8. He had not long resided at this living, when one of thejus- 
ticjes of the peace put him in the slocks for being drunk, and rais- 
ing disturbances at the neighbouring fair. This disgrace how- 
ever did not retard his promotion ; for he was recommended as 
chaplain to Henry the seventh ; and being employed by that mo- 
narch in a secret negotiation respecting his intended marriage 
with Maj^garet of Savoj^ he acquitted himself to that king's satis- 
faction, and obtained the praise both of diligence and dexterity. 

9. That prince having given Inm a commission to Maximilian, 
who at that time resided at Brussels, was surprised rn less thai» 
three days after, to see Wolsey present himself before him ; and 
supposing that he had been delinquent, began to reprove hisdc 

E 



98 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23. 

lay. Wolsey, however, surprised him with the assyrance that 
he had just returned from Brussels, and had successfully fulfilled 
all his majesty's commands. 

10. His despatch on that occasion procured him the deanery 
of Lincoln, and m this situation it was that he was introduced by 
Fox, bishop of Winchester, to the young king's notice, in hopes 
that he would have talents to supplantthe earl of Surry, who was fa- 
vourite at that time ; and in this Fox was not out of his conjectures. 

1 1 . Presently after being introduced at court, he was made a 
privy counsellor ; and had such frequent opportunities of in- 
gratiating himself with the young king, as he appeared at once 
complying, submissive, and enterprising. Wolsey used every 
art to suit himself to the royal temper ; he sung, laughed, and 
danced, with every libertine of the court ; neither his own years, 
which were near forty, nor his character as a clergyman, were 
any restraint upon him, or tended to check, by ill timed severi- 
ties, the gayety of his companions. 

13. To such a weak and vicious monarch as Henry, qualities 
of this nature were highly pleasing, and Wolsey was soon ac- 
knowledged as his chief favourite, and to him was entrusted the 
chief administration of affairs. 

13. The people began to see, with indignation, the new fa- 
vourite's mean condescensions to the king, and his arrogance to 
themselves. They had long regarded the vicious haughtiness, and 
the unbecoming splendour of the clergy, with envy and detesta- 
tion, and Wolsey's greatness served to bring a new odium upon 
that body, already too much the object of the people's dislike. 

14. His character being now^ placed in a more conspicuous 
point of light, daily began to manifest itself the more. Insatiable 
in his acquisitions, but still more magnificent in his expenses ; of 
extensive capacity, but still more unbounded in enterprise ; am- 
bitious of power, but still more desirous of glory ; insinuating,.;^ 
engaging, pursuasive, and at other times lofty, elevated, and com- 
mandmg ; haughty to his equals, but afiable to his dependants 
oppressive to the people, but liberal to his friends ; more gene-i 
rous than grateful ; formed to take the ascendant in every inter- 
course ; but vain enough not to cover his real superiority. 

15. In order to divert the envy of the public from his inordi- 
nate exaltation, he soon entered into a correspondence witi 
Francis the first of France, who had taken many methods to worl 
upon his vanity, and at last succeeded. 

16. In consequence of that monarch's wishes, Henry was pur-; 
suaded by the cardinal to an interview with that prince. This 
expensive congress was held between Guisnes and Ardres, neai 
Calais, within the Enghsh pale, in compliment to Henry for cross] 
mg the sea. 



Chap. 23 HENRY Vllf. 99 

17. Some months hefore, a defiance had been sent by j^ 
the two king's to each other's court, and through all the * * 
chief cities of Europe, importing that Henry and Francis, 

with fourteen aids, would be ready in the plains of Picardy, to 
answer atl comers that were gentlemen at tilt and tourney. 

18. Accordingly, the monarchs, now all gorgeously apparel- 
ed, entered the list on horseback, Francis surrounded with Hen- 
ry's guards, and Henry with those of Francis. They were both 
at that time the most comely personages of their age, and prided 
themselves on their expertness in the military exercises. 

. 19. The ladies were the judges in these feats of chivalry ; 
and they put an end to the encounter whenever they thought pro- 
per. It is supposed the crafty French monarch was willing to 
gratify Henry's vanity, by allowing him to enjoy a petty pre-emi- 
nence in these pastimes. He ran a tilt against Monsieur Gran- 
deval, whom he disabled at the second encounter. 

20. He engaged Monsieur de Montmorency, whom however 
,he could not throw from the saddle. He fought at faulchion with 
a French nobleman, who presented him v/ith his courser, in to- 
ken of submission. 

21. By this time all the immense treasures of the late king 
were quite exhausted on empty pageants, guilty pleasures, or 
vain treaties and expeditions. But the king relied on Wolsey 
alone for replenishing his coffers ; and no person could be fitter 
for the purpose. His first care was to get a large sum of money 
from the people, under the title of a benevolence, which added 
to its being extorted, the mortification of being considered as a 
free gift. 

22. Henry little minded the manner of its being raised, provid- 
ed he had the enjoyment of it ; however, his minister met with 
some opposition in his attempts to levy these extorted contribu- 
tions. In -the first place, having exacted a considerable subsidy 
from the clergy, he next addressed himself to the house of com- 
mons ; but they only granted him half the supplies he demanded. 

23. Wolsey was at first highly offended at their parsimony, 
and desired to be heard in the house ; but as this would have de- 
stroyed the very form and constitution of that august body, they 
replied that none could be permitted to sit and argue there, but 
such as had been elected members. This was the first attempt 
made in this reign to render the king master of the debates in par- 
liament-i. Wolsey first paved the way, and unfortunately for the 
kingdom, Henry too well improved upon his plans soon after, 

24. Hitherto the admmistration of all affairs was carried on 
by Wolsey, for the king was contented to lose, in the embraces 
of his mistresses, all the complaints of his subjeots ; and the cardi- 
nal undertook to keep him ignorant in order to continue his own 



100 HISTORY Of ENGLAND. Chap. 23-. 

vn^ controlled authority. But now a period was approaching that 
w^s to put an end to this ministGr's exorbitant power. One of 
the most extraordinary and important revolutions, that ever em- 
ployed the attention of man was now ripe for execution. This 
was no less a change than the reformation. 

25. Tho vices and impositions of the church of Rome, were 
now almost come to a head ; and the increase of arts and learning 
among the laity, propagated by means of printing, which had 
been lately invented, began to make them resist that power 
which was originally founded in deceit. 

A jy 26. Leo the tenth was at that time pope, and eagerly 
I'r-iq' employed in building the church of St. Peter at Rome. In 
order to procure money for carrying on that expensive 
undertaking, he gave a commission for selling indulgences, a 
practice that had been often tried before 

27. These were to free the pur -haser from the pains of pur- 
gatory, and they would serve even for one's friends, if purchased 
with that intention. There were every where shops opened 
where they were to be sold; but in general they were to be had 
at taverns, brothels, and gaming houses. 

28. The Augustine friars had usually been employed in Saxo- 
ny to preach the indulgences, and from this trust had derived 
both protit and consideration ; but the pope's minister, supposing 
that they had found out illicit methods of secreting the money, 
transferred this lucrative employment from them to the Domini- 
cans. 

29. Martin Luther, professor in the university of Wirtemberg, 
was an Augustine monk, and one of those who resented this 
transfer of the sale of indulgences from one order to another. 
He. began to show his indignation by preaching agamst their effi- 
cacy ; and being naturally of a fiery temper, and provoked by 
opposition, he inveighed against the authority of the pope him- 
self. Being driven hard by his adversaries, still as he enlarged 
his reading, in order to support his tenets,, he discovered some 
new abuse or error in the church of Rome. 

30. In this dispute it was the fate of Henry to be a champion 
on both sides. His father, who had given him the education of 
a scholar, permitted him to be instructed in school divinity, 
which then was the principal object of learned inquiry. Hen- 
ry, therefore, willing to convince the world of his abilities in 

, that science, obtained the pope's permission to read the works 
of Luther, which had been forbidden under pain of excommuni- 
cation. 

31. In consequence of this, the king defended the seven sa- 
craments out of St. Thomas Aquinas, and showed some dex- 
terity m this science, though it is thought that Wolsey ha(J 



1 



i 



Chap. 23. HENRY vlll. 101 

the chief hand in directing him. A book being thu& finished in 
haste, it was sent to Rome for the pope's approbation, which is 
natural to suppose would not be withhold. 

32. The pontiff, ravished with its eloquence and depth, com- 
pared it to the labours of Jerome, or St. Augustine, and revv'ard- 
ed the author with the title of Defender of the Faith, little 
imagining, that Henry was soon to be one of the most terrible 
enemies that ever the church of Rome had to contend with. 

33. Henry had now been eighteen years married to , ^^ 
Catharine of Arragon, who had been brought over from 1-9^' 
Spain, and married his eldest brother, who died a few 
months after cohiibitation. But notwithstanding the submissive 
deference paid to the indr.Igence of the church, Henry's mar- 
riage with this princess did not pass v/itliout scruple and hesita- 
tion, both on his ovv-n side and on that of the people. 

34. Various causes concurring to increase Isis remorse, and 
to render his conscience more scrupulous, he became very de- 
sirous to obtain tlie dissolution of this unfortunate, and as it was 
esteemed ualavvfal marriage. In this, however, Henry was 
carried forward, though not perhaps at tirst excited, by a motive 
much more powerful than the suggestions of his conscience. 

37. It happened, that among the maids of honour tlien at- 
tending the queen, there was one Anna Bullen, the daughter of 
Sir Thomas Buiion, a gentleman of distinction, and related to 
most of the nobility. He had been employed by the king in 
several embassies, and was married to the daughter of the duke 
of Norfolk. 

38. The beauty of Anna surpassed whatever had hitherto ap- 
peared at this voluptuous court; and her education, which had 
been at Paris, tended to set off her personal charms. Her fea- 
tures were regular, mild, and attra'ttive ; her stature elegant, 
though below the middle size, Mhile her wit and vivacity ex- 
ceeded even her other allurements. 

39. Henry, who had never learned the art of restraining any 
passion that he desired to gratify, saw and loved her ; but after 
several efforts to induce her to comply with his criminal desires, 
he found, that without marriage he could have no chance of 
succeeding. This obstacle, therefore, he hardily undercook to 
remove ; and as his own queen was now become hateful to him, 
in order to procure a divorce, he alleged that his conscience 
rebuked him for having so lopg lived in incest v»ith the wife of 
/lis brother. 

40. In this pretended perplexity, therefore, he applied to 
Clement the seventh, v. ho owed him many obligations, desiring 
to dissolve the bull of the former pope, which had given him 
permission to marry Catharine ; and to declare that it Avas not 



102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23 

in the power, even of the holy see, to dispense with a law so 
strictly enjoined in scripture. 

41. The unfortunate pope, unwilling to grant, but afraid to 
refuse, continued to promise, recant, dispute, and temporize ; 
hoping that the king's passion would never hold out, during the 
tedious course of an ecclesiastical controversy. In this he was 
entirely mistaken. Henry b;*d been long taught to dispute as 
well as he, and quickly found, or "wrested many texts of scrip- 
ture to favour his opinions, or his passions. 

42. During the course of a long, perplexing negotiation, on 
the issue of which Henry's happiness seemed to depend, he had 
at fxrst expected to find in his favourite Wolsey, a warm de- 
fender, and a steady adherent ; but in this he found himself 
mistaken : Wolsey seemed to be in pretty much the same di- 
lemma with the pope. On the one hand he was to please his 
master the king, from whom he had received a thousand marks 
of flivour, and oq the other hand, he feared to disoblige the 
pope, whose servant he more immediately was, and who besides 
had power to puntsli his disobedience. 

43. He therefore resolved to continue neuter in this contro- 
versy ; and though of all men the most haughty, he gave way 
on this occasion to Cambegio, the pope's nuncio, in all things, 
pretending a deference to his skill in canon law. 

44. Wolsey's scheme of temporizing was highly displeasing 
to the king ; but for a while he endeavoured to stifle his re- 
sentment, until it could act with more fatal certainty. He for 
some time looked out for a man of equal abilities and less art ; 
and it was not long before an accident threw into his wf!y one 
Thomas Cranmer, of great talents, and probably of more in- 
tegrity. 

45. Thus finding himself provided with a person who could 
supply Wolsey's place, he appeared less reserved in his re- 
sentment against that prelate. The attorney-general was order- 
ed to prepare a bill of indictment against him ; and he was soon 
after commanded to resign the great seal. Crimes are easily 
found out against a favourite in disgrace, and the courtiers did 
not fad to increase the catalogue of his errors. He was order- 
ed to depart from York palace ; and all his furniture and plate 
were converted to the king's use. 

46. The inventory of his goods being taken, they were found 
to exceed even the most extravagant surmises. Of fine Hol- 
land alone there were found a thousand pieces ; the walls of his 
palace were covered with cloth of gold and silver ; he had a 
cupboard of plate of massy gold ; all the rest of his riches and 
furniture were in proportion, and probably their greatness in- 
vited the hand of power. 



Caap. 23 HENRY VIII. 103 

47. He was soon after arrested by the earl of Northumber- 
land at the king's command, for high treason, and preparations 
were made for conducting him from York, where he then re- 
sided, to London, in order to take his trial. He at first refused 
to comply with the requisiliou, as being a cardinal ; but finding 
the earl bent on performing his commission, he complied, and 
set out by easy journies, for London, to appear as a criminal 
where he had acted as a king. 

48. In his way he staid a fortnight at the earl of Shrewsbu- 
ry's, where, one day at dinner, he was taken ill, not without 
violent suspicions of having poisoned himself. Being brought 
forward from thence, he with much difficulty reached Leicester 
abbey, where the monks coming out to meet him, he said, 
" Father abbot, I am come to lay my bones among you ;" and 
immediately ordered his bed to be prepared. As his disorder 
.increased, an oihcer being placed near, at once to guard and at- 
tend him, he spoke to him a little before he expired, to this 
effect : 

49. " I pray you have me heartily recommended unto his 
royal majesty ; he is a prince of a most royal carriage, and hath 
a princely heart, and ratlier than he will miss, or want any part 
of his will, he will endanger one half of his kingdom. I do 
assure you^ I have kneeled before him for three hours together, 
lo persuade him from his will and appetite, but could not pre- 
vail. Had I but served God as dihgently as I have served the 
king, he would not Iiave given me over in my grey hairs. But 
this is the just reward that I must receive for my indulgent pains 
and study ; not regarding my service to God, but only to my 
prince." He died soon after, in all the pangs of remorse, and 
left a life which he had all along rendered turbid b}^ ambition, 
and wretched by mean assiduities. 

50. The tie that held Henry to the church being thus broken, 
he resolved to keep no fartiier measures with the pontiff. He 
therefore privately married Anna BuUen, whom he had created 
marchioness of Pembroke, the duke of Norfolk, uncle to the 
new queen, her father, mother, and doctor Cranmer, being pre 
sent at the ceremony. 

51. Soon after, finding the queen pregnant, he publicly own- 
ed his marriage, and, to colour over his disobedience to the 
pope, with an appearance of triumph, he passed with his beau- 
tiful bride through London, with a magnificence greater than 
iiad been known before. But though Henry had thus separated 
^a'om the church, yet he had not addicted himself to the sj'-stem 
of any other reformer. 

52. As the mode of religion was not as yet known, and as the 
minds of those who were of oiJDosite sentiments were extreme- 



104 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23. 

ly exasperated, it naturally followed that several must fall a sa- 
Ci'iiice in the contest between ancient estabhshments and modern 
reformation. 

53. As the monks had all along shown him the greatest resist- 
ance, he resolved at once to deprive them of future power to in* 
jure him. He accordingly empowered Thomas Cromwell, who 
was now made secretary of state, to send commissioners into the 
several counties of England to inspect the monasteries, and to 
report, with rigorous exactness, the conduct and deportment ot 
such as were resident there. 

54. This employment was rc;vJily undertaken by some crea- 
tures of the court, namely, Layton, London, Price, Gage, Petre, 
and Belasis, who are said to have discovered monstrous disorders 
in many of the religious houses. 

55. Whole convents of women abandoned to all manner of 
lewdness, friars accomplices in their crimes ; pious frauds every 
where practised to increase the devotion and liberality of the 
people, and cruel and inveterate factions maintained between the 
members of many of these institutions. These accusations, whe- 
ther true or false, were urged with great clamour against these 
communities, and a* general horror was excited in the nation 
against them. 

. 1^ 56. A new visitation w^as soon after appointed, and 
I'r^n' ^**6sh crimes were also produced ; so that his severities 
were conducted with such seeming justice and success, 
that in less than two years he became possessed of all the mo- 
nastic revenues. These on the whole amounted to six hundred 
and forty-five, of which twenty-eight had abbots, who enjoyed a 
seat in parliament. Ninety colleges were demolished in several 
counties ; two thousand three hundred and seventy-four chan* 
tries, and free chapels, and a hundred and ten hospitals. 

57. The whole revenue of these establishments amounted to 
one hundred and sixty-one thousand pounds, which was about a 
twentieth part of the national income. But as great murmurs were 
excited by some upon this occasion, Henry took care thatall those 
who could be useful ta him, or even dangerous incases of oppo- 
sition, should be sharers in the spoil. He either made a gift of 
the revenues of the convents to his principal courtiers, or sold 
them at low prices, or exchanged them for other lands on very 
disadvemtageous terms. 

58. Henry's opinions were at length delivered in a law, which 
from its horrid consequences, was afterwards termed the Bloody 
Statute, by which it was ordained, that whoever, by word or writ- 
ing, denied transubstantiation, whoever maintained that communi- 
on in both kinds was necessary, whoever asserted that it was law- 
ful for priests to marry, whoever alleged that vow.s of chastity 



Chap. 23. HENRY Viir. 105 

might be broken, whoever maintained that private masses were 
unprofitable, or that auricular confession was unnecessary, should 
be found guilty of heresy, and burned or hanged as the court 
should determine. 

59. As the people were at that time chiefly composed of those 
who followed the opinions of Luther, and such as still adhered 
to the pope, this statute, with Henry's former decrees, in some 
measure excluded both, and opened a field for persecution, which 
soon after produced its dreadful harvests. Bainham and Bilney 
were burned for their opposition to popery ; Sir Thomas More 
and bishop Fisher were beheaded for denying the king's su- 
premacy. 

60. These severities, however, were preceded by one of a 
diiferent nature, arising neither from religion nor political causes, 
but merely from tyrannical caprice. Anna Bullen, his queen, 
had been always a fiivourer of the reform-ition, <md consequently 
had many enemies on that account, who only waited some fit oc- 
casion to destroy her credit with the king ; and that occasion 
presented itself but too soon. 

61. The king's passion washy this time quite palled by satic 
ty ; as the only desire he ever had for her arose from that bri' 
tal appetite, which enjoyment soon destroys, he was now falle 
in love, if we may so prostitute the expression, with another, an 
languished for the possession of Jane Seymour, who had for some 
time been maid of honour to the queen. 

62. In the mean time her enemies were not remiss in raising 
an accusation against her. The duke of Norfolk, from his at- 
tachment to the old religion, took care to produce several wit- 
nesses accusing her of incontinenc}^ with some of the meaner ser^ 
vants of the court. Four persons were particularly pointed out 
as her paramours, Henry Norris, groom of the stole, Weston and 
Brereton, gentlemen of the king's bedchamber, together with 
Mark Smeton, a musician. 

63. Accordingly soon after, Norris, Weston, Brereton, and 
Smeton, were tried in Westminster hall, when Smeton was pre- 
vailed upon by the promise of a pardon, to confess a criminal 
correspondence with the queen ; but he was never confronted 
by her he accused ; and his execution with the rest shortly after, 
served to acquit her of the charge. Norris, who had been much 
in the king's favour, had an offer of his life, If he would confess 
his criipe and accuse his mistress ; but he rejected the proposal 
with contempt, and died professing her innocence and his own. 

64. The queen and her brother were tried by a jury of peers ; 
but upon what proof or pretence the crime of incest was urge^ 
against them is unknovv^n ; the chief evidence, it is said, amount- 
ed to no more than tliat llochford hud been seen to lean on her 

• E 2 . 



106 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23. 

bed before ssme company. Part of the charge against her was, 
that she had declared to her attendants, that the king never had 
her heart ; which was considered as a slander upon the throne, 
and strained into a breach of a late statute, by which it was de- 
clared cnminal to throw any slander upon the king, queen, or 
their issue. 

65. The unhappy queen, though unassisted by counsel, de- 
fended herself with great judgment and presence of mind, and 
the spectators could not forbear declaring her entirely innocent. 
She anwered distinctly to all the charges brought against her ; 
but the king's authority was not to be controlled, she was de- 
clared guilty, and her sentence ran, that she should be burned 
or beheaded at the king's pleasure. 

66. On the morning of her execution, her sentence being mi- 
tigated into beheading, she sent for Kingstone, the keeper of the 
Tower, to whom upon entering the prison, she said, '' Mr. King- 
stone, I hear I am not to die till noon, and I am sorry for it ; for 
I thought to have been dead before this time, and free from a life 
of pain." The keeper attempted to comfort her,- by assuring 
her the pain would be very little ; she replied, " I have heard 
the executioner is very expert ; and (clasping her neck with her 
hands, laughing) 1 have but a little neck." 

67. When brought to the scaffold, from a consideration of her 
child Elizabeth's welfare, she would not inflame the minds of 
the spectators against her persecutors, but contented herself with 
saying, "that she was come to die as she was sentenced by the 
law." She would accuse none, nor say any thing of the ground 
upon which she was judged ; she prayed heartily for the king, 
and called him '^ a most merciful and gentle prmce ; that he had 
always been to her a good and gracious sovereign ; and that if 
any one should think proper to canvas her cause, she desired 
him to judge the best." 

68. She was beheaded by (he executioner of Calais, who was 
brought over, as much more expert than any in England. The 
very next day after her execution, he married the lady .Tane 
Seymour, his cruel heart being no way softened by the wretch- 
ed fate of one that had been so lately the object of his warmest 
affections. He also ordered his parliament to give him a divorce 
between her sentence and execution ; and thus he endeavoured 
to bastardize Elizabeth, the only child he had by her, as he had 
in the same manner formerly bastardized Mary, his only child 
by queen Catharine. 

J. 69. In the midst of these commotions the fires of Smith- 

iJ:' field were seen to blaze with unusual fierceness. Those 

who adhered to the pope, or those who followed the doc- 

t'vines of Luther, were equally the objects of royal vengeance 



Cliap. 23. HExNRV VIII. 107 

and ecclesiastical persecution. From the multiplied alterations 
which were mnde in the national systems of belief, mostly drawn 
lip by Henry himself, few knew what to think or what to profess. 

70. They were ready enough, indeed, to follow his doctrines, 
how inconsistent or contradictory soever ; but as he was con- 
tinuall}'' changing them himself, they could hardly pursue so far 
as he advanced before them. Thomas Cromwell, raised by the 
king's caprice, from being a blacksmith's son, to be a royal fa- 
Tourite, for tyrants ever raise their favourites from the lowest 
of the people, together with Cranmer, now become archbishop 
of Canterbury, were both seen to favour the reformation with all 
their endeavours. 

71. On the other hand, Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, to- 
gether with the duke of Norfolk, were for leading the king back 
to his original superstition. In fact, Henry submitted to neither ; 
his pride had long been so inflamed by flattery, that he thought 
himself entitled to regulate, by his own single opinion, the reli- 
gious faith of the whole nation. 

72. Soon after, no less than five hundred persons were im- 
prisoned for contradicting the opinions delivered in the Bloody 
Statute, and received protection only from the lenity of Crom- 
well. Lambert, a schoolmaster, was condemned and executed 
with great cruelty ; Barnes, who had been instrumental in Lam- 
bert's execution, felt, in his turn, the severity of the persecuting 
spirit ; he was condemned to the flames, by a bill in parliament, 
without any trial. 

73. With Barnes were executed, Gerard and Jerome ; they 
discussed theological questions at the very stake. Three catho- 
lics also, whose names were Abel, Fetherstone,and Powel, were 
dragged upon the same hurdles to execution, and declared that 
the most grievous part of their punishment was the being cou- 
pled with such heretical miscreants as were united in the same 
calamity. 

74. During these horrid transactions, Henry was resolved to 
take another queen, Jane Seymour having died in childbed, and 
after some negotiations upon the continent, he contracted a mar- 
,riage with Anne of Cleves, his aim being by her means to fortify 
his alliances with the princes of Germany. His aversion, how- 
ever, to the queen, secretly increased every day, and he at length 
resolved to get rid of her and his prime minister together. 

75. He had a strong cause of dishke to him for his late unpro- 
pitious alliance, and a new motive was soon added for increasing 
his displeasure. Henry had fixed his affections on Catharine 
Howard, niece to the duke of Norfolk ; and the only method of 
gratifying his new passion was, as in former cases, discarding the 
present queen, to make room for a new one. The duke of Nor. 



les HISTORY Of' ENGtAND. Chap. ^^> 

folk had long been Cromvveirs mortal enemy, and eagerly em- 
braced this opportunity to destroy a man he considered as his ri- 
val. He therefore made use of all his niece's ar;s to ruin the 
f:ivourite, and when his project was ripe for execution, he ob- 
tained a commission from the king to arrest Cromwell for high 
treason. 

76. His disgrace was no sooner known, than all his friends for- 
sook him, except Cranmer, who wrote such a letter to Henry ia 
his behalf, as no other man in the kingdom would have presum 
ed to offer. However he was accused in parhament of heres;y 
»nd treason ; and without ever being heard in his own defence, 
condemned to suffer the pains of death as the king should think 
proper to direct. 

77. When he was brought to the scaffold, his regard for bis 
son, hindered him from expatiating upon his own innocence ; he 
thanked God for bringing him to that death for his transgressions,, 
confessed he had often been seduced, but that he now died in the 
catholic faith. 

78. But the measure of the king's severities was not yet fdl- 
ed up. He had thought himself very happy in his new marriage. 
He was so captivated with the queen's accomplishments, that he 
gave public thanks for his felicity, and desired his confessor to 
join with him in the same thanksgiving. This joy, however, waa 
of very short duration. While the king was at York upon an in- 
tended conference with the king of Scotland, a man of the name 
of Lassels waited upon Cranmer at London, and tVoni the inform- 
ation of this man's sister, who had been servant to the duchess 
dowager of Norfolk, he gave a very surprising account of the 
queen's incontinence. 

79. When the queen was first examined rehitive to her crime, 
she denied the charge ; But afterwards finding that her accom- 
plices were her accusers, she confessed her incontinence before 
marriage, but denied having dishonoured the king's bed since 
their union. Three maids of honour who were admitted to her 
secrets, still further alleged her guilt ; and some of them con- 
fessed having passed the night in the same bed with her and her 
lovers. 

80. Theservile parliament, upon being informed of the queen's 
crime and confession, found her (piickly guilty, and petitioned" 

*^he king, that she might be punished with death ; that the same' 
jpenalty might be inflicted on the lady Rochford, the accomplice 
in her debaucheries ; and that her grandmother the duchess do- 
wager of Norfolk, together with her father, mother, and nine 
others, men and women, as having been privy to the queen's ir 
regularities, should participate in her punishment, 

81. With this petition the king was most graciously pleased to 



Ghap. 23. HENRY VIII. IQ$ 

agree ; they were condemned to death b}^ an act of attainder, 
which at the same time made it capital tor all persons to conceal 
their knowledge of the debaucheries ofany future queen. It was 
also enacted, that if he married any woman who had been incon- 
tinent, taking her for a true mai<i, she should be guilty of treason, 
in case she did not previously reveal her guilt. 

82. The people made merry with this absurd and brutal sta- 
tute ; and it was said, that the king must henceforth look out for 
a widow. After all these laws were passed, in which the most 
wonderful circumstance is, that a body of men could ever be in- 
duced to give their consent to them, the queen was beheaded on 
Tower hill, together with the lady Rochford, who found no great 
degree of compassion, as she had herself before tampered in 
blood. 

83. In about a year after the death of the last queen, . j^ 
Henry once more changed his condition, by marrying his /f^'^* 
gixth and last wife, Catharine Parr, who according to the "^ ' 
ridiculous suggestions of the people, was, in fact, a widow. She 
was the wife of the late lord Latimer; and was considered as a 
woman of discretion and virtue. She was already passed the me- 
ridian of lift;, and managed this capricious tyrant's temper with 
prudence and success. 

84. Still, however, the king's severity to his subjects continu- 
ed as fierce as ever. For some time he had been incommoded 
with an ulcer in his leg, the pain of v/hich, added to his corpu- 
lence and other infirmities, increased his natural irascibihty to 
such a degree, that scarce any, of even his domestics, approached 
him without terror. It was not to be expected, therefore, that 
any who differed from him in opinion should, at this time, parti- 
cularly, hope for pardon. 

85. Though his health was decliaing apace, yet his implacable 
cruelties were not the less frequent. His resentments were dif- 
fused indiscriminately to all ; at one time a protestant, and at ano- 
ther a catholic, we/e the objects of his severity. The duke of 
Norfolk, and his son the earl of Surry, were the last that felt 
the injustice of the tyrant's groundless suspicions. The duke 
was a nobleman who had served the king with talents and fidelity ; 
his son was a young man of the most promising hopes, who ex- 
celled in every accomplishment that became a scholar, a courtier, 
and a soldier. 

86. He excelled in all the military exercises which were th6n ' 
in request ; he encouraged the fine arts by his practice and ex- 
ample ; and it is remarkable, that he v/as the first who brought 
our language, in his poetical pieces, to any degree of refinement. 
He celebrated the fair Geraldina in all his sonnets, and maintain- 
ed her superior beauty in all places of public contention. 



no HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23. 

37. These qualifications, however, were no safeguard to him 
against Henry's suspicions ; he had dropped some expressions of 
resentment against the king's ministers upon being displaced from 
the government of Boulogne ; and the whole family was become 
obnoxious from the late incontinency of Catharine Howard, the 
queen who was executed. From these motives, therefore, pri- 
vate orders were given to arrest the flither and son, and accord- 
ingly they were arrested both on the same day, and confined to 
the Tower. 

88. Surry being a commoner, his trial was the more expedi- 
tious, and as to proofs, there were many informers base enough 
to betray the intimacies of private confidence, and all the con- 
nexions of blood. The duchess dowager of Richmond, Surry's 
own sister, enlisted herself among the number of his accusers ; 
and sir Richard Southwell, also, his most intimate friend, charged 
him with infidelity to the king. 

89. It would seem at this dreary period, that there was nei- 
ner faith nor honour to be found in all the nation, Surry denied 

the charge, and challenged his accuser to single combat. This 
favour was refused him ; and it was alleged that he had quarter- 
ed the arms of Edward the Confessor on his escutcheon, which 
alons was sufficient to convict him of aspiring to the crown. To 
this he could make no reply ; and indeed any answer would have 
been needless ; for, neither parliaments nor juries during this 
reign, seem to have been guided by any other proofs but the 
will of the crown. This young nobleman was therefore con- 
demned for high treason, notwithstanding his eloquent and spi- 
rited defence ; and the sentence was soon after executed upon 
him on Tower hill. 

90. In the mean time the duke endeavoured to mollify the 
king by letters and submissions ; but the monster's hard heart 

. T^ was rarely subject to tender impressions. The parlia- 
- 'r, ' ment meeting on the fourteenth day of January, a bill of 
attainder was found against the duke of Norfolk ; as it 
was thought he could not so easily have been convicted on a fair 
hearmg by his peers. The death warrant was made out and im- 
mediately sent to the lieutenant of the Tower. The duke pre- 
pared for death, the following morning was to be his last ; but 
an event of greater consequence to the kingdom intervened, and 
prevented his execution. 

91. The king had been for some time approaching fast to- 
wards his end ; and for several days all those about his person 
plainly saw that his speedy death was inevitable. The disorder 
in his leg was now grown extremely painful ; and this, added to 
his monstrous corpulency, which rendered him unable to stir, 
made him more furious than a chained lion. He had ever been 



thap. 24. EDWARD VI. Ill 

stern and severe ; he was now outrageous. In this state he had 
continued for near four years before his death, the terror of all, 
and the tormentor of himself ; his courtiers having no inchnation 
to make an enemy of him, as they were more ardently employed 
iin conspiring the death of each other. 

92. In this manner, therefore, he was suffered to struggle, 
without any of his domestics having the courage to warn him of 
his approching end, as more than once during this reign persons 
had been put to death, for foretelling the death of the king. At 
last, sir Anthony Denny had the courage to disclose to him this 
dreadful secret; and contrary to his usual custom, he received 
the tidings with an expression of resignation. His anguish and 
rentiorse were at that time greater than can be expressed ; he de- 
sired that Cranmer might be sent for ; but before that prelate 
could arrive, he was speechless. 

93. Cranmer desired him to give some sign of his dying in 
the faith of Christ ; he squeezed his hand, and immediately ex- 
pired, after a reign of thirty-seven years and nine months, . j^ 
in the fifty-sixth year of his age. Some kings have been /f-^iy' 
tyrants from contradiction and revolt ; some from being 
misled by favourites, and some from a spirit of party ; but Henry 
was cruel from a depraved disposition alone ; cruel in government, 
€ruel in religion, and cruel in his family. 

94. Our divines have taken some pains to vindicate the cha- 
racter of this brutal prince, as if his conduct and our reformation 
had any connexion with each other. There is nothing so absurd 
as to defend the one by the other ; the most noble designs are 
brought about by the most vicious instruments ; for we see even 
that cruelty and injustice were thought necessary to be employed 
ija our holy redemption. 



CHAPTER XXIV.— Edward VI. 

1 . Henry the eighth was succeeded on the throne by his only 
son Edward the sixth, now in the ninth year of his age. The 
late king, in his will, which he expected would be explicitly obey- 
ed, fixed the majority of the prince at the completion of his eigh- 
teenth year ; and in the mean time appointed sixteen executors 
of his will, to whom during the minority, he entrusted the govern 
ment of the king and kingdom, the duke of Somerset as protect 
or, being placed at their head. 

2. The protector, in his schemes for advancing the reforma- 
tion, had always recourse to the counsels of Cranmer, who, 
being a man of moderation and prudence, was averse to violent 
changes, and determined to bring over the people by insensible 

.'innovations to his own peculiar system 



' 12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. U 

3. A committee of bishops and divines had been appointed by 
the council to frame a hturgy for the service of the church ; 
and this work was executed with great moderation, precision, 
and a(iT!uracy. A law was also enacted, permitting priests to 
marry ; the ceremony of auricular confession, though not abo- 
lished, was left at the discretion of the people, who were not 
displeased at being freed from the spiritual tyranny of their in- 
structers ; the doctrine of the real presence was the last tenet 
of popery that was wholly abandoned b}*^ the people, as both 
the clergy and laity were loath to renounce so miraculous 
a benefit as it was asserted to be. 

4. However, at last, not only this, but all the principal opi- 
nions and practices of the catholic religion, contrary to what the 
scripture authorises, were abolished ; and the reformation, such 
as we have it, was almost entirely completed in England. With 

. j^ all these innovations the people and clergy in general ac- 
* „ ' quiesced, and Gardiner and Bonner were the only per- 
sons whose opposition was thought of any weight ; they 
were therefore sent to the Tower, and threatened with the king's 
farther displeasure in case of disobedience. 

5. For all these the protector gained great applause and po- 
pularity, but he was raised to an enviable degree of eminence, 
and his enemies were numerous in proportion to his exaltation. 
Of all the ministers at that time in the council, Dudley earl of 
Warwick, was the most artful, ambitious, and unprincipled. Re- 
solved at any rate to possess the principal place under the king, 
he cared not what means were to be used in acquiring it. 
However, unwilling to throw off the mask, he covered the most 
exorbitant views under the fairest pretences. 

6. Having associated himself with the earl of Southampton ^ 
he formed a strong party in the council, who were determined, 
to free themselves from the control the protector assumed over 
them. That nobleman was in fact now grown obnoxious to a 
very prevailing party in the kingdom. He was hated by the 
nobles for his superior magnificence and power ; he was hated 
by the catholic party for his regard to the reformation ; he 
was disliked by many for his severity to his brother ; besides 
the great estate he had raised at the expense of the church and 
the crown, rendered him obnoxious to all. 

7. The palace which he was then building in the Strand serv- 
ed also, by its magnificence, and still more by the unjust me- 
thods that were taken to raise it, to expose him to the (jensures 
of the public. The parish church of St. Mary, with three 
bishops' houses, were pulled down to famish ground and mate- 
rials for the structure. 

8. He was soon afterwards sent to the Tower, and the chief 



Chap. 24. EDWARD Vf, US 

article of which he was accused, was his usurpation of the go- 
vernment, and his taking all power into his own hands ; hut his 
great riches was the real cause. Several others of a slighter 
tint were added to invigorate this accusation, but none of them 
could be said to amount to high treason. In consequence of 
these a bill of attainder was preferred against him in the house 
of lords ; but Somerset contrived, for this time, to elude the ri- 
gour of their sentence, by having previously on his knees con- 
fessed the charge before the members of the council. 

9. In consequence of this confession, he was deprived of all 
his offices and goods, together with a great part of his landed es- 
tate, which was forfeited to the use of the crown. This tine on 
liis estate was soon after remitted by the king, and Somerset once 
more, contrary to the expectation of r.ll, recovered his liberty. 
He was even readmitted into the council; happy for him if his 
ambition had not revived with his security. 

10. In fact, he could not help now and then bursting out into 
invectives against the king and government, which were quickly 
carried to his secret enemy, the earl of Warwick, who was now 
become the duke of Norlhnmberlind. As he was surrounded 
with that nobleman's creatures, they took care to reveal all the 
designs which they had themselves tirst suggested ; and Somer- 
set soon found the fatal etfects of his rival's resentment. He was 
by Northumberland's command arrested, with many more ac- 
cused of being his partizans ; and he v/as, with his wife, the 
duchess, also thrown into prison. 

1 1. He was now accused of having formed a design to raise 
an insurrection in the North, of attacking the train bands on the 
muster day, of plotting to secure the Tower, and to excite a re- 
bellion in London. These charges he strenuously denied ; but he 
confessed one of as heinous a nature, v/hich was, that he had' 
laid a project for murdering Northumberland, Northampton, and 
Pembroke, at a banquet which was to be given them by lord 
Paget. 

1 2. He was soon after brought to a trial before the marquis of 
Winchester, who sat as high steward on the occasion, with twen- 
ty-seven peers more, including Northumberland, Pembroke, and 
Northampton, who were at once his judges and accusers ; and 
being found guilty, he was brought to the scaffold, on Tower hill, 
where he appeared without the least eaiotion, in the midst of a 
vast concourse of the populace, by whom he was beloved. 

13. He spoke to them with great composure, protesting that 
ne had always promoted the service of his king, and the interests 
of true religion, to the best of his power. The people attested 
their belief of what he said, by crying out, " It is most true." An 
universal tumult was beginning to take place ; but Somerset de 



1I4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 24. 

siring them to be still, and not to interrupt bis la^t meditations, 
but to join with him in prayer, he laid down his head, and sub- 
mitted to the stroke of the executioner. 

14. In the mean time Northumberland had long aimed at the 
first authority, and the infirm state of the king's health opened 
the prospects to his ambition. He represented to that young 
prince, that his sisters Mary and Elizabeth, who were appointed 
by Henry's will to succeed, in failure of direct heirs to the crown, 
had been both declared illegitimate by parliament ; that the queen 
of Scots, his aunt, stood next excluded by the king's will, and 
being an alien also, lost all right of succeeding ; that as the three 
princesses were thus legcdly excluded, the succession naturally 
devolved upon the marchioness of Dorset, whose next heir was 
the lady Jane Gray, a lady every w^ay accomplished for govern- 
ment, as well by the charms of her person, as the virtues and ac- 
quirements of her mind. The king, who had long submitted to all 
the politic views of this designing minister, agreed to have the 
succession submitted to council, where Northumberland had in- 
fluence soon after to procure an easy concurrence. 

15. In the mean time as the king's health declined, the minis- 
ter laboured to strengthen his own interests and connexions. 
His first aim was to secure the interests of the marquis of Dorset, 
fiither to lady Jane Gray, by procuring for him the title of duke 
of Suffolk, which was lately become extinct. Having thus oblig- 
ed this nobleman, he then proposed a match between his fourth 
son, lord Guilford Dudley, and the lady Jane Gray, w-hose inte- 
rests he had been at so much pains to advance. 

16. Still bent on spreading his interests as widely as possible, 
be married his own daughter to lord Hastings ; and had these 

. j^ marriages solemnized with all possible pomp and festivity. 
* ' Mean while Edward continued to languish ; and several 
fatal signs of a consumption began to appear. It was hoped, 
however^ that his youth and temperance might get the better of 
his disorders, and from their love the people were unwilling to 
think him in any danger. 

1 7. It ]. id been remarked indeed by some, that his health was 
visibly seen to decline, from the time that the Dudleys were 
])rought about his person. The character of Northumberland 
might have justly given some colour to suspicion, and his remov- 
ing all, except his own emissaries from about the king, still fur- 
ther increased the distrusts of the people. 

18. Northumberland, hov^over, was no way uneasy at their 
murmurs ; he v/as assiduous in liis attendance upon the king, and 
professed the most anxious conrern for his safety ; but still drove 
forward his darling scheme of transferring the succession to his 
o^'n daughter-in-law 



Chap. 2&. MARY. 115 

1 9. The young king was put into the hands of an ignorant wo- 
man, who very confidently undertook his cure. After the use 
of her medicines, all the bad symptoms increased to a most vio- 
lent degree ; he felt a difficulty of speech and breathing, his 
pulse failed, his legs swelled, his colour became livid, and many 
other symptoms appeared of his approaching end. He expired 
at Greenwich, in the sixteenth year of his age, and the . j^ 
seventh of his reign, greatly regretted by all. as his early ■t\p^'^' 
virtues gave a prospect of th^ continuance of a happy 



CHAPTEP jCXV.—Marv. 

1 . tJpon the death of Edward two candidates put in their pre- 
tensions to the crown. Mary, Henry's daughter by Catharine 
of Arragon, relying on the justice of her cause, and lady Jane 
Gray, being nominated in the late youn^ king's will, and upon 
."ilie support of the duke of Northumberland, her father-in-law. 
Mary was strongly bigotted in the popish superstitions, having 
been bred up among churchmen, and having been even taught to 
prefer .martyrdom to a denial of her belief. 

2. As she had lived in continual restraint she was reserved 
and gloomy ; she had even during the life of her f:^ther, the re- 
solution to maintain her sentiments, and refused to comply with 
his new institutions. Her zeal had rendered her furious ; and 
she was not only blindly attached to her religious opinions, but 
even to the popish clergy who maintained them. 

3. On the" other hand.'Jane Gray was strongly attached to the 
reformers ; and though yet but sixteen, her judgment had at- 
tained to such a degree of maturity, as few have been found to 
posspss. A.11 historians agree, that the solidity of her understand- 
ing, improved by continual application, rendered her the wonder 
of her age. Jane, who was in a great measure ignorant of all the 
transactions in her favour, was struck with equal grief and sur- 
prise, when she received intelligence of them. 

4. She shed a flood of tears, appeared inconsolable, and it was 
not without the utmost difficulty that she yielded to the entreaties 
of Northumberland, and the duke her father. Orders were given 
also for proclaiming her throughout the kingdom ; but these 
were but very remissly obeyed. When she was proclaimed in 
the city, the people^'heard her accession made public without any 
signs of pleasure ; no applause ensued, and some even expressed 
their scorn and contempt. 

5. In the mean time Mary, who had retired upon the news of 
the king's death, to Kenning hall in Norfolk, sent circular letters 



116 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 25. 

to all the great towns and nobility in the kingdom, reminding 
them of her right, and commanding them to proclaim her without 
delaj. 

6. Her claims soon became irresistible ; in a little time she 
found herself at the head of forty thousand men, while the few 
who attended Northumberland, continued irresolute ; and he 
even feared to lead them to the encounter. 

7. Lady Jane thus finding that all was lost, resigned her royalty, 
which she had held but ten days, with marks of real satisfaction, 
and retired with her mother to their own habitation. Northum- 
berland also, who found his aifairs desperate, and that it was im- 
possible to stem the tide of popular opposition, attempted to quit 
the kingdom ; but he was prevented by the band of pensioner 
guards, who informed him that he must stay to justify their con- 
duct in being led out against their lawful sovereign. Thus cir 
cumvented on all sides, he delivered himself up to Mary, and 
was soon after executed in a summary way. Sentence was also 
pronounced against lady Jane and lord Guilford, but without any 
intention for the present of putting it in execution. 

8. Mary now entered London, and with very little effusion of 
blood, saw herself joyfully proclaimed, and peaceably settled on 
the throne. This was a flattering prospect, but soon this pleas- 
ing phantom was dissolved. Mary was morose and a bigot ; 
she was resolved to give back their former power to the clergy, 
and thus once more to involve the kingdom in all the horrors it 
had just emerged from. Gardiner, Bonner, Tonstal, Day, 
Heath, and Vesey, who had been confined, or suffered losses 
for their catholic opinions during the late reigns, were taken 
from prison, reinstated in their sees, and their former sentences 
repealed. 

9. A parliament, which the queen called soon after, seemed 
willing to concur in all her measures ; they at one blow repealed 
all the statutes with regard to religion which had been passed 
during the reign of her predecessor ; so that the national reli- 
gion was again placed on the same footing on which it stood at 
the death of Henry the eighth. 

10. While religion ^\^,\s thus returning to its primitive abuses, 
the queen's ministers, who were willing to strengthen her pow- ' 
er by a catholic alliance, had been for some time looking out ■ 
for a proper consort, they pitched upon Philip, prince of Spain, 
and son of the celebrated Chnrles the V. In order to avoid as 
much as possible any disagreeable remonstrances from the peo- , 
pie, the articles of marriage were drawn as flivourably as possi- 
ble to the interests and honour of England, and this in some 
measure stilled the clamours that had already begun against ic. 

n. The discontenlis of the Dctiple rose to such a pitch that an 



Chap. 25 MARY. 117 

insurrection, headed by sir Thomas Wyat, succeeded, but Wyat 
being made prisoner, was condemned and executed, with some 
©f his adherents. 

12. But what excited the compassion of the people most of all, 
was the execution of lady Jane Gray, and her husband lord 
Guilford Dudley, who were involved in the punishment, though 
not in the guilt of this insurrection. Two days after Wyat was 
apprehended, lady Jane and her husband were ordered to pre- 
pare for death. Lady Jane, who had long before seen the threat- 
«^ned blow, was no way surprised at the message, but bore it with 
a heroic resolution ; and being informed that she had three days 
to prepare, she seemed displeased at so long a delay. 

13. On the day of her execution her husband desired permis- 
sion to see her ; but this she refused, as she knew the parting 
would be too tender for her fortitude to withstand. The place 
at first designed for the execution was without the Tower ; but 
Iheir youth, beauty, and innocence, being likely to raise an insur- 
rection among the people, orders were given that they should be. 
executed within the verge of the Tower. 

14. Lord Dudley was the first that suffered ; and w^hile the 
lady Jane was conducting to the place of execution, the officers 
of the Tower met her, bearing along the headless body of her 
husband streaming with blood, in order to be interred in the 
Tower chapel. She looked on the corpse for some time with- 
out any emotion, and then with a sign desired them to proceed. 

15. On the scaftold she made a speech, in which she alleged 
that her offence was not the having laid her hand upon the crown, 
but the not rejecting it v/ith suflicient constancy ; that she had 
less erred through ambition than filial obedience ; that she 
willingly accepted death as the only atonement she could make 
to the injured state ; and was ready by her punishment to show 
that innocence is no plea in excuse for deeds that tend to injure 
the community. After speaking to this eflect, she caused her- 
self to be disrobed by her women, and with a steady, serene 
countenance, submitted to the executioner. 

16. At the head of those who drove these violent measures 
forward were Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, and cardinal 
Pole, who was now returned from Italy. Pole, who was nearly 
aUied by birth to the royal family, and always conscientiously 
adhered to the catholic religion, had incurred Henry's displea- 
sure, not only by refusing to assent to his measures, but by writ- 
ing against him. It was for this adherence that he was cherish- 
ed by the pope, and now sent over to England as legate from 
the holy see. Gardiner was a man of a very different charac-- 
ter ; his chief aim was to please the reigning prince, and he hu4' 
shown already many instances of his prudent conformity. 



318 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 25. 

17. A persecution therefore began by the martyrdom of 
Hooper, bishop of Gloucester, and Rogers, prebendary of St. 
Paul's. They were examined by commissioners appointed by 
the queen, with the chancellor at the head of them. 

19. Sanders and Taylor, two other clergymen, whose zeal 
had been distinguished in carrying on the reformation, were the 
next that suffered. Bonner, bishop of London, bloated at once 
with rage and luxury, let loose his vengeance without restraint, 
and seemed to take a pleasure in the pains of the unhappy suf- 
ferers ; while the queen, by her letters, exhorted him to pur- 
sue the pious work without pity or interruption. Soon after, in 
obedience to her commands, Ridley, bishop of London, and the 
venerable Latimer, bishop of Worcester, were condemned to- 
gether. Ridley had been one of the ablest champions for the 
reformation ; his piety, learning, and solidity of judgment, were 
admired by his friends, and dreaded by his enemies. 

19. The night before his execution, he invited the mayor ot 
Oxford and his wife to see him ; and when he beheld them 
melted into tears, he himself appeared quite unmoved, inwardly 
supported and comforted in the hour of agony. When he was 
brought to the stake to be burnt, he found his old friend Lati- 
mer there before him. 

20. Of all the prelates of that age, Latimer was the most re- 
markable for his unaifected piety, and the simplicity of his man- 
ners. He had never learned to flatter in courts, and his open 
rebuke was dreaded by all the great, who at that time too much 
deserved it. His sermons, vv'hich remain to this day, show that 
he had much learning and much wit, and there is an air of sin- 
cerity running through them not to be found elsewhere. 

21. When Ridley began to comfort his ancient friend Latimer, 
he, on his part, was as ready to return the kind office. " Be of 
good cheer, brother, cried he, we shall this day kindle such a 
torch in England, as"! trust to God shall never be extinguished " 
A furious bigot ascended to preach to them and the people, 
while the fire was preparing, and Ridley gave a most serious 
iittention to his discourse. 

22. No way distracted by the preparations about him, he 
heard him to the last, and then told him that he was ready to 
answer all that he had preached upon, if he were permitted a 
short indulgence, but this w^as refused him. At length fire was 
set'to the pile. Latimer was soon out of pain, but Ridley con- 
tinued to suffer much longer, his legs being consumed before the 
fire reached his vitals. 

23. Cranmer's death followed soon after, and struck the whole 
nation with horror. His love of life had formerly prevailed.. 
In an unguarded moment he was induced to sign a paper con- 



Chap. 25. MARY. 119 

demning the reforrnation ; and now his enemies, as we are told 
of the devil, after having rendered him completely wretched, 
resolved to destroy him. Being led to the stake, and the fire be- 
ginnmg to be kindled round him, he stretched forth his right 
hand, and held it in the llames till it was consumed, while he fre- 
quently cried out in the midst of his sufferings, " That unworthy 
hand ;" at the same time exhibiting no appearance of pain or dis- 
order. When the lire attacked his body, he seemed to be quite 
insensible of his tortures ; his mind was occupied wholly upon 
the hopes of a future reward. After his body was destroyed, his 
heart was found entire ; an emblem of the constancy with which 
he suffered. 

24. It was computed, that during the persecution, two hun- 
dred and seventy-seven persons suffered by tire, besides those 
punished by imprisonment, fines, and confiscations. Amongthose 
who suffered by fire were five bishops, twenty-one clergymen, 
«ight lay gentlemen, eighty four tradesmen, one hundred hus- 
bandmen, fifty-five Avomen, and four childre*n. All this was ter- 
rible ; and yet the temporal affairs of the kingdom did not seem 
to be more successful. 

25. Calais, that had been now for above two hundred . j^ 
years in possession of the English, was attacked, and by a /r r« 
sudden and unexpected assault, being blocked up on 
every side, was obliged to capitulate ; so that in less than eight 
days the duke of Guise recovered a city that had been in posses- 
sion of the English since the time of Edward the third, and which 
he had spent eleven months in besieging. This loss filled the 
whole kingdom with murmurs, and the queen with despair ; she 
was heard to say, that when dead, the name of Calais would be 
found engraved on her heart. 

26. These complicated evils, a murmuring people, an unsuc- 
cessful war, made dreadful depredations on Mary's constitution 
She began to appe^- consumptive, and this rendered her mind 
still more morose and bigotted. The people now therefore be- 
gan to turn their thoughts to her successor, and the princess 
Elizabeth came into a greater degree of consideration than be- 
fore. 

27. Mary had been long in a very declining state of health, 
and having mistaken her dropsy for a pregnancy, she made use ot 
an improper rigimen, which had increased the disorder. Every 
reflection now tormented her, the consciousness of being hated 
by her subjects, and the prospect of Elizabeth's succession, whom 
she hated ; all these preyed upon her mind, and threw her in- 
to a lingering fever, of which she died, after a short and unfor- 
tunate reign of five years, four months, and eleven days, in the 
forty -third year of her age 



120 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 2*^. 

CHAPTER XXVI.— Elizabeth. 

1. Nothing could exceed the joy that was diffused among thr 
people upon the accession of Elizabeth, who now came to the 
throne without any opposition. This fjwourite of the people, 
. jy from the beginning, resolved upon reforming the church, 
- * o * even while she was held in the constraints of a prison ; 

and now upon coming to the crown, she immediately set 
about it. A parliament soon after completed what the preroga- 
tive had begun ; act after act was passed in favour of the reform- 
ation ; and in a single session the form of religion was established 
as we at present have the happiness to enjoy it. 

2. A state of permanent felicity is not to be expected here ; 
and Mary Stewart, commonly called Mary queen of Scots, was 
the first person that excited the fears or the resentment of Eli- 
zabeth. Henry the seventh had married his eldest daughter, 
Margaret, to James, \ung of Scotland, who dying, left no issue that 
came to maturity except Mary, afterwards surnamed queen of 
Scots. At a very early age, this princess being possessed of every 
accomphshment of person and mind, was married to Francis, the 
dauphin of France, who dying, left her a widow at the age of 
nineteen. 

3. Upon the death of Francis, Mary the widow, still seemed 
disposed to keep up the title ; but finding herself exposed to the 
persecutions of the dowager queen, who now began to take the 
lead in France, she returned home to Scotland, where she found 
the people strongly impressed with the gloomy enthusiasm of 
the times. A difference in religion between the sovereign and 
the people is ever productive of bad effects ; since it is apt to 
produce contempt on one side, and jealousy on the other. 

4. Mary could not avoid regarding the sour manners of the re- 
formed clergy, who now bore sway among the Scots, with a mix- 
ture of ridicule and hatred ; while they, on the other hand, could 
not look tamely on the gaieties and levities which she introduc- 
ed among them, without abhorrence and resentment. The jea- 
lousy thus excited, began every day to grow stronger ; the clergy 
waited only for some indiscretion in the queen to fly out into 
open opposition ; and her indiscretion but too soon gave them 
sufficient opportunity. 

5. Mary, upon her return, had married the earl of Darnley, 
but having been dazzled by the pleasing exterior of her new 
lover, she had entirely forgot to look into the accomplishments 
of his mind. Darnley was but a weak and ignorant man ; violent, 
yet variable in his enterprises ; insolent, yet credulous, and ea- 
sily governed by flatterers. She soon therefore, began to con- 
vert her admiration into disgust • and Darnley enraged at hei 



Chap. 26. ELIZABETH. 12i 

increasing coldness, pointed his vengeance against every person 
he supposed the cause of this change in her sentiments and be- 
haviour. 

6. There was then in the court one David Rizzio, the son of 
a musician at Turin, himself a musician, whom Mary took inUi 
her confidence. She consulted him on all occasions ; no favours 
could be obtained but by his intercession, and all suitors were 
first obliged to gain Rizzio to their interests, by presents or by 
flattery. It was easy to pursuade a man of Darnley's jealous 
\ixorious temper, that Rizzio was the person who had estranged 
the queen's affections from him ; and a surmise once conceived 
became to him a certainty. 

7. He soon, therefor-* r.oo^siiU^'l wi»,]i «onae lords of his party^ 
who accompanying him into the queen's apartment, where Rizzio 
then was, they dragged him into the antichamber, where he was 
despatched with fifty-six wounds ; t'lc unhyppy princess continu- 
ing her lamentations, while they were perpetrating their horrid 
intent. Being informed however of his fate, Mary at once dried 
up her tears, and said she would Aveep no more, for she would 
Jiow think of revenge. 

8. She therefore concealed her resentment, and so flir impos- 
ed upon Darniey. her husband, that h^ put himself under her 
protection, and soon after attended her to Edinburgh, where he 
was told the place would be favourable to his declining health. 
Mary lived in the palace of Holy rood house, but as the situation 
of that place was low, and the concourse of persons about the 
court necessarily attended with noise, which might dirturb him 
in his present infirm state, she fitted up an apartment for him in 
a solitary house at some distance, called the Kirk of Field. Mary 
there gave hirn marks of kindness and attachment, she conversed 
cordially with him, and she lay some nights in a room under him. 

9. It was on the ninth of February that she told him she would 
pass the night in the palace, because the marriage of one of her 
servants was to be there celebrated in her presence. But dread- 
ful consequences ensued ; about two o'clock in the morning, the 
M'hole city was much alarmed, at hearing a great noise ; the house 
in which Darniey lay was blown up with gunpowder. His dead 
body was found at some distance in a neighbouring field, but with- 
out any marks of violence or contusion. No doubt could be 
entertained but that Darniey was murdered ; and the general 
suspicion fell upon Bothwell, a person lately taken into Mary's 
favour, as the perpetrator. 

10. One crime led on to another; Bothwell, though accused 
of being stained with the husband's blood, though universally 
odious to the people, had the confidence, while Mary was on her 
way te Sterling, on a visit to her son, to seize her at the headof 

F 



122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 26 

abody of eight hundred horse, end to carry her to Dunoar, where 
he forced her to yield to his purposes. It was then thought by 
the people that the measure of his crimes was complete ; and 
that he who was supposed to kiil the queen's husband, and to 
have offered violence to her person, could expect no mercy , 
but they were astonished upon linding, instead of disgrace, thct 
Bothwell was taken into more than former favour ; and to crown 
all, that he was married to Mary, having divorced his own wife 
to procure this union. 

11. This was a fatal alliance to Mary ; and the people were 
now wound up by the complication of her suilt, to pay very lit- 
tle deference to her authority. An association was formed that 
took Mary prisoner, and sent her into confmement to the castle 
of Lochlevin, situated in a lake of that name, where she suffered 
all the severities of an unkind keeper, and an upbraiding con- 
science, with a feeling heart. 

12. The calamiiies of the great, even though justly deserved, 
seldom fail to create pity, and procure friends. Mary by her 
charms and promises had engageda young gentleman, whose name 
was George Douglas, to assist her in escaping from the place 
where she was confined, and this he effected by conveying her 
ashore in disguise in a small boat rowed by himself. It was now 
that the news of her enlargement being spread abroad, all the 
loyalty of the people seemed to revive once more, and in a few 
days she saw herself at the head of six thousand men. 

13. A battle was fought at Langside, near Glasgow, which was 
entirely decisive against her, and now being totally ruined, she 
fled southward from the field of battle, with great precipitation, 

. T-j and came with a few attendants to the borders of England, 

^ ' J. * where she hoped for protection from Elizabeth, who, in- 

^ ' stead of protection, ordered her to be put in confinement, 

yet treated her with all proper marks of respect. | 

14. She was accordingly sent to Tutbury castle, in the coun- j 
ty of Stafford, where she was put under the custody of the earl of 1 
Shrewsbury, where she had hopes given her of one day coming! 
into favour, and that unless her own obstinacy prevented, an ac- i 
commodation might at last take place. 

15. The duke of Norfolk was the only peer who enjoyed that 
highest title of nobility in England, and the qualities of his mind 
corresponded to his high station. Beneficent, affable and gene- 
rous, he had acquired the affections of the people, and yet fromi 
his moderation, he had never alarmed the jealousy of the sove- ^ 
reign. He was at that time a widov/er, and being of a suitable 
age to espouse the queen of Scots, her own attractions, as well 
as his interests, made him desirous of the match. Elizabeth, how- 
ever, dreaded such an union, and the duke was soon after made 
prisoner and sent to the Tower. ^ 



i 



Chap. 26. ELIZABETH. 123 

16. Upon his releasement from thence, new projects were set 
on foot by the enemies of the queen and the reformed religion, 
secrectly fomented by Rodolphi, an instrument of the court of 
Rome, and the bishop of Ross, Mary's minister in England. 

17. It was concerted ty them, that Norfolk should renew his 
designs upon Mary, and raise her to the throne, to which it is 
probable he was prompted by passion as well as interest ; and 
this nobleman entering into their schemes, from being at first 
only ambitious, he now became criminal. His servants were 
brought to make a full confession of their master's guilt, and 
the bishop of Ross, soon after, finding the whole discovered, did 
not scruple to confirm their testimony. The duke was instantly 
committed to the Tower, and ordered to prepare for trial. 

18. A jury of twenty-five unanimously passed sentence 
upon him ; and the queen, four months after, reluctantly signed 
the warrant for his execution. He died with great calmn ss 
and constanc)^ ; and though he cleared himself of any disloyal 
intentions against the queen's authority, he acknowledged the 
justice of the sentence by which he suffered. 

19. These conspiracies served to prepare the way for Mary's 
ruin, whose greatest misfortunes proceeded rather from the vio- 
lence of her friends than the malignity of her enemies. Ehza- 
beths minister's had long been waiting for some signal instance 
of the captive queen's enmity, which they could easily convert 
into treason, and this was not long wanting. 

. pv 20. About this time one Joibfi Ballard, a popish priest^ 
1 'isf * ^^^ ^^^^ been bred in the English seminary at Rheims, 
resolved to compass the death of a queen, whom he 
considered as the enemy of his religion, and, with that gloomy 
resolution, came over into England in the disguise of a sol- 
dier, with the assumed name of captain Fortescue. He bent 
his endeavours to bring about at once the project of an assassi- 
nation, an insurrection, and an invasion. The first person he 
addressed himself to was Anthony Babington, of Dethick, in 
the county of Derby, a young gentleman of good family, and 
possessed of a very plentiful fortune. This person had been 
long remarkable for his zeal in the cathoHc cause, and in par- 
ticular to his attachment for the captive queen. He therefore 
came readily into the plot, and procured the concurrence and 
assistance of some other associates in this undertaking. 

2 1 . The next step was to apprize Mary of the conspiracy form- 
ed in her favour; and this they effected by conveying their letters 
to her by means of a brewer, who supplied the family with ale, 
through a chink in the wall of her apartment. In these Babing- 
ton informed her of .1 design laid for a foreign invasion, th^ 



124 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. £&. 

plan of an insurrection at home, the scheme for her delivery, and 
the conspiracy for assas8inating the usurper by six noble gentle- 
men, as he termed them, all of them his private friends, who, 
from the zeal which they bore the catholic cause, and her ma- 
jesty's service, would undertake ta(; tragical execution. 

22. To these Mary replied, that she approved highly of the 
design ; that the gentlemen might expect all the revTards which 
it should be ever in her power to confer ; and that the death ol 
Elizabeth was a necessary circumstance, previous to any further 
attempts, either for her deliver}^ or the intended insurrection. 

23. The plot being thus ripe for execution, and the evidence 
against the conspirators incontestible, Waisingham, who was pri- 
vately informed of all, resolved to suspend their punishment no 
longer. A warrant was accordingly issued out for the apprehend- 
ing of Babington, and the rest of the conspirators, who covered 
themselves with various disguises and endeavoured to keep them- 
selves concealed. But they were soon discovered, thrown into 
prison, and brought to trial. • In their examination they contra- 
dicted each other, and the leaders were ol^liged to make a full 
confession of the truth. Fourteen were condemned and exeeut-^ 
ed, seven of whom died acknowledging their crime. 

24. The execution of these wretched men only prepared the 
way for one of still greater importance, in which a captive queen 
was to submit to the unjust decisions of those who had no right, 
but that of power, to condemn her. 

25. Accordingly, a commission was issued to forty peers, with 
five judges, or the major part of them, to try and pass sentence 
upon Mary, daughter and heirof James the fifth, king of Scotland, 
commonly called queen of Scots, and dowager of France. 

26. Thirty-six of these commissioners arriving at the castle of 
Fotheringay, presented her with a letter from Elizabeth, com- 
^^J- manding her to submit to a trial for her late conspi- 

i^Rr ^^^^' ^^^ principal charge against her was urgod by 
Serjeant Gaudy, who accused her with knowing, ap- 
proving, and consenting to Babington's conspiracy. This charge 
was supported by Babington's confession, and by the copies which 
were taken of their correspondence, in which her approbation 
of the queen's murder was expressly declared. 

27. Whatever might have been this queen's offences, it is cer- 
tain that her treatment was very severe. She desired to be put 
in possession of such notes as she had taken preparative to her 
trial ; but this was refused her. She demanded a copy of her 
protest ; but her request was not complied with ; she even re- 
quired an advocate to plead her cause against so many learned 
lawyers, as had undertaken to urge her accusations, but all her 
demands were rejected ; and after an adjournment of some days 



Chap. 2G. ELIZABETH. 125 

sentence of death was pronounced against her in the star cham 
ber in Westminster, all the commissioners except two being 
present. 

28. Whether Elizabeth was really sincere in her apparent 
reluctance to execute Mary, is a question which, though usually 
given against her, I will not take upon me to determme. Cer- 
tainly there were great arts used by her courtiers, to determine 
her to the side of severity ; as they had every thing to fear from 
the resentment of Mary, in case she ever succeeded to the throne. 
Accordingly, the kingdom was now lilled with rumours of plots, 
treasons, and insurrections ; and the queen was continually kept 
in alarm by fictitious dangers. She, therefore, appeared to be 
in great terror and perplexity ; she was observed to sit much 
alone, and to mutter to herself half sentences, importing the dif- 
ficulty and distress to v^'hich she was reduced. 

29. In this situation, she one day called her secretary, David- 
son, whom she ordered to draw out secretly the warrant for 
Mary's execution, informing him, that she intended to keep it by 
her in case any attempt should be made for the delivery of that 
princess. She signed the warrant and then commanded it to be 
carried to the chancellor to have the seal affixed to it. Next 
morning, however, she sent two gentlemen, successively, to de- 
sire that Davidson would not go. to the chancellor until she should 
see him, but Davidson telling her that the warrant had been al- 
ready sealed, she seemed displeased at this precipitation. 

30. Davidson, who probably wished himself to see the sen- 
taice executed, laid the aif;iir before the council, who unani- 
mously resolved, that the warrant should be immediately put in 
execution, and promised to justify Davidson to the queen. Ac- 
cordingly, the fiital instrument was delivered to Beale, who sum- 
moned the noblemen to whom it was directed, namely, the earls 
of Shrewsbury, Derby, Kent, and Cumberland, and these to- 
gether set out for Fotheringay castle, accompanied by two exe 
cutioners, to desj^atch their bloody commission. 

31. Mary heard of the arrival of her executioners, who order- 
ed her to prepare for death, by eight o'clock the next morning. 
Early on the fatal morning, she dressed herself in a rich habit of 
silk and velvet, the only one which she had reserved for this so- 
lemn occasion. Thomas Andrews, the under sheriff of the coun- 
ty, then entering the room, he informed her that the hour was , 
come, and that he must attend her to the place of execution. ; 
She replied that she was ready ; and bidding her servants fare- 
well, she proceeded, supported by two of her guards, and fol- 
lowed the sheriff with a serene, composed aspect, with a long 
reil of hnen on her head, and in her hand a crucifix of ivory. 

32. She then passed into another hall, the noblemen and the 



126 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 20. 

sheriff going before, and Melvii, her master of the household, 
bearing up her train, where was a scaffold erected and covered 
with black. As soon as she was seated, Beale began tQ read the 
warrant for her execution. Then Fletcher, dean of Peter- 
borough, standing \\'ithout the rails, repeated a longexhoi-tation, 
which she desired him to forbear, as she was firmly resolved to 
die in the catholic religion. The room was crowded with spec- 
lators, who beheld her with pity and distress, while her beauty, 
though dimmed by age and affliction, gleamed through her suf- 
ferings, and was still remarkable in this fattvl moment. 

33. The two executioners kneeling, and asking her pardon, 
she said, she forgave them, and all the authors of her death, as 
freely as she hoped forgiveness from her Maker, and then once 
more made a solemn protestation of her innocence. Her eyes 
were then covered v.'ith a linen handkerchief, and she laid her- 
self down without ;my fear or trepidation. Tlien reciting a psalm, 
and repefiting a pious ejaculation, her head was severed from 
her body at two strokes by the executioner. In contemplating 
the contentions of mankind, v/e find almost ever both sides cul- 
pable ; Mary, who was stained with crimes that deserved pu- 
nishment, was put to death by a princess who had no just preten- 
sions to inflict punishment on her equal. 

34. In the mean time, Philip king of Spain, who had long me- 
ditated the destruction of England, and whose extensive power 
gave him ground to hope for success, now began to put all his 
projects in execution. The point on which he rested his glory, 
and the perpetual object of his schemes, was to support the ca- 
tholic religion, and exterminnte the reformation. The revolt of 
his subjects in the Netherlands still more inflamed his resentment 
against the English, as they had encouraged that insurrection, 
and assisted the revolters. 

35. He had, therefore, for some time been making prepara- 
tions to attack England by a powerful invasion ; and now every 
part of his vast empire resounded with the noise of armaments, 
and every art was used to levy supplies for that great design. 
The marquis of Santa Croce, a sea officer of great reputation 
and experience, was destined to command the fleet, which con- 
sisted of a hundred and thirty vessels, of a greater size than any 
that had been hitherto seen in Europe. 

36. The duke of Parma was to conduct the land forces, twenty 
thousand of whom were on board the fleet, and thirty-four thou- 
sand more were assembled in the Netherlands, ready to be trans- 
ported into England ; no doubt was entertained of this fleet's suc- 
cess, and it was ostentatiously stiled the Invincible Armada. 

37. Nothing could exceed the terror and consternation which 
all ranks of people felt in ivigland upon news of this terrible ar- 



Chap. 2G. ELIZABETH. 127 

mada being under sail to invade them, A fleet of not above thir- 
ty ships of war, and those very small, in comparison, was all that 
was to oppose it by sea ; and as for resisting by land, that was 
supposed to be impossible, as the Spanish army was composed 
of men well disciplined, and long inured to danger. 

38. Although the English fleet was much inferior in number 
and size of shipping to that of the enemy, yet it was much more 
manageable, the dexterity and courage of the mariners being 
greatly superior. Lord Howard Effingham, a man of great cou- 
rage and capacity, as lord admiral, took on him the command of 
the navy. Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, the most renowned sea- 
men in Europe; served under him ; while a small squadron con- 
sisting of forty vessels, English and Flemish, commanded by lord 
Seymour, lay off Dunkirk, in order to intercept the duke of Par- 
ma. This was the preparation made b}' the English, while all 
the protestant powers of Europe regarded this enterprise as the 
critical event which was to decide for ever the fate of their re- 
ligion. 

39. In the mean time while the Spanish armada was prepar- 
ing, the admiral Santa Crocc died, as likewise the vice admiral 
Paliano ; and the command of this expedition was given to the 
duke Medina Sidonia, a person utterly unexperienced in sea 
afi'airs ; and this in some measure served to frustrate the design. 
But some other accidents also contributed to its failure. Upon 
leaving the Port of Lisbon, the armada the next day met with a 
violent tempest, which sunk some of the smallest of their ship- 
pmg, and obliged the fleet to put back into harbour. 

40. After some time spent in retitting, they again put to sea^ 
where they took a fisherman, who gave them intelligence, that 
the English fleet, hearing of the dispersion of the armada in a 
storm, was retired back to Plymouth harbour, and most of the 
mariners discharged. From this false intelligence, the Spanish 
admiral, instead of going directly to the coast of Flandei's, to 
take in the troops stationed there, as he had been instructed, 
resolved to sail to Pl3^mouth, and destroy the shipping laid up 
in that harbour. But Einngham, the English admiral, was very 
well prepared to receive them ; he was just got out of port when 
he saw the Spanish armada coming full sail towards him, dispos- 
ed in the form of a half moon, and stretching several miles from 
one extremity to the other. 

41. However, the English admiral, seconded by Drake, Haw- 
kins, and Frobisher, attacked the armada at a distance, pouring 
in their broadsides with admirable dexterity. They did not 
choose to engage the enemy more closel3\ because they, were 
greatly inferior to the number of ships, guns, and weight ot 
metal j nor could they pretend to board such lofty ships with- 



228 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. S6. 

but manifest disadvantage. However two Spanish galloons 
were disabled and taken. As the armada advanced up the 
channel the English still followed and infested their rear ; and 
their fleet continually increasing from different ports, they soon 
found themselves in a capacity to attack the Spanish fleet more 
nearly ; and accordingly fell upon them, while they were as 
yet taking shelter in the port of Calais. 

42. To increase their confusion, Howard took eight of his 
smaller ships, and tilling them with combustible materials, sent 
them, as if they had been tireships, one after the other, into the 
midst of the enemy. The Spaniards taking them for what they 
seemed to be, immediately took flight in great disorder ; while 
the English profiting by their panic, took or destroyed about 
twelve of the enemy. 

43. This was a fatal blow to Spain ; the duke de Medina Si- 
■ionia benig thus driven to the coast of Zealand, held a council of 
war, in which it was resolved, that as their ammunition began to 
fail, as their ships had received great damage, and the duke of 
Parma had refused to venture his army Under their protection, 
they should return to Spain by sailing round the Orkneys, as 
the winds were contrary to his p;issage directly back. 

44. Accordingly they proceeded northAvard, and were follow 
ed by the English fleet as far as Flamborough head, where they 
were terribly shattered by a storm. Seventeen of the ships, 
having five thousand men on board, were afterwards cast away 
upon the Western Isles, and the coast of Ireland. 

45. From being invaded, the English in their turn attacked 
the Spaniards. Of those who made the most signal figure in the 
depredations upon Spain, was the young earl of Essex, a noble- 
man of great bravery, generosity, and genius, and fitted not only 
for the foremost ranks in war by his valour, but to conduct the 
intrigues of a court by his eloquence and address. In all the 
masques which were then performed, the earl and Elizabeth 
were generally coupled as partners, and although she was al- 
most sixty, and he not half so old, yet her vanity overlooked the 
disparity ; the world told her that she was 3'oung, and she 
herself was willing to think so. 

46. This young earl's interest in the queen's affections, as 
may naturally be supposed, promoted his interests in the state ; 
and he conducted all things at his discretion. But young and un- 
experienced as he was, he at length began to fancy that the popu- 
larity he possessed, and the flatteries he received, were given to 
his merits, and not to his favour. In a debate before the queen 
between him and Burleigh, about the choice of a governor for 
Ireland, he was so heated in the argument, that he entirely for- 
got both the rules and duties of civiiity. He turned his back o(x 



Chap. 26. ELIZABETH. 129 

the queen in a contemptuous manner, which so provoked her 
resentment, that she instantly gave him a box on the ear. 

47. Instead of recollecting himself, and making submissior 
due to her sex and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, 
and swore he would not bear such usage even from her fa- 
ther. This offence, though very great, was overlooked by the 
queen ; her partiality v/as so prevalent, that she reinstated him 
in her former favour, and her kindness seemed to have acquired 
new force from that short interruption of anger and resentment 
The death also of his rival, lord Burleigh, which happened short- 
ly after, seemed to confirm his power. 

48. At that time the earl of Tyrone headed the rebellious na- 
iwes of Ireland ; who, not yet thoroughly brought into subjec- 
tion to the English, took every opportunity to make incursion? 
upon the more civilized inhabitants, and slew all they were able 
to overpower. To subdue these was an emplo3'^ment that 
Essex thought worthy of his ambition, nor were his enemies 
displeased at thus removing a man from court who obstructed all 
their private aims of preferment. But it ended in his ruin. 

49. Instead of altacking the enemy in their grand retreat in 
Ulster, he led his forces into the province of Munster, v/hcre he 
only exhausted his strength and lost his opportunity against a 
people that submitted at his approach, but took up arm.s again 
when he retired. This issue of an enterprise, from which much 
was expected, did not fail to provoke the queen most sensibly ; 
und her anger was still more heightened by the peevish and im- 
patient letters v/liich he daily wrote to her and the council. But 
her resentment against him was still more justly let loose, when 
she found that leaving the place of his appointment, and without 
any permission demanded or obtained, he had returned from 
Ireland to make his compHments to her in person. 

60. Though Elizabeth was justly ofiended, yet he soon . p 
won upon her temper to pardon him. He v/as ordered \'nQf)' 
to continue a prisoner in his own house till the queen's 
furthur pleasure should be known, and it is probable that the 
discretion of a few months might have reinstated him in all his 
former employments ; but the impetuosity of his temper would 
not suffer him to wait for a slow redress of what he considered 
as wrongs ; and the queea's refusing his request to continue 
him in possession of a lucrative monopoly of sweet wines, which 
he had long enjoyed, spurred him to the most violent and guilty 
measures. 

61. Having long built with fond credulity on his great popu- 
larity, he began to hope, from the assistance of the giddy multi- 
tude, that revenge upon his enemies in the council, which he 
supposed was denied him from the throne. His greatest de- 

F 2 



130 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 2ff 

pendence was upon the professions of the citizens of London, 
M'hose schemes of rehgion and government he appeared entirely 
to approve ; and while he gratiiied the puritans by raiUng at the 
government of the church, he pleased the envious, by exposing 
the faults of those in power. 

52. Among other criminal projects, the result of blind rage 
and despair, it was resolved, that sir Christopher Blount, one 
of his creatures, should, with a choice detachment, possess him- 
self of the palace gates ; that sir John Davis should seize the 
hall, sir Charles Davers the guard chamber ; while Essex him- 
self should rush in from the Meuse, attended by a body of his 
partizans, into the queen's presence, entreat her to remove his 
and her enemies, to assemble a new parliament, and to correct 
the defects of the present administration. 

53. While Essex was deliberating upon the manner he should 
proceed, he received a private note by v/hich he was warned 
to provide for his own safety, lie now, therefore, consulted 
with his friends touching ilie emergency of their situation ; they 
were destitute of arms and ammunition, while the guards of the 
palace were doubled, so that any attack there would be fruit- 
less. While he and his contidents were in consultation, a per- 
son, probably employed by his enemies, came in as a messenger 
tVom the citizens, with tenders of friendship and assistance 
against all his adversaries. Wild as the project was, of raising 
the cit3% in the present terrible conjancture it was resolved on. 
but the execution of it was delayed till the day following. 

54. Early in the morning of the next day, he was attenden 
by his friends, the earls of Rutland and Southampton, the lords 
Sandes, Parker, and Mountcagle, with three hundred persons 
of distinction. The doors of Essex house v/ere immediately 
locked, to prevent all strangers from entering, and the earl now 
discovered his scheme for raising the city more fully, to all the 
conspirators. In the mean tin^e, sir Walter Raleigh sending a 
message to sir Ferdinando Gorges, this officer had a conference 
with him in a boat on the Thames, and there discovered aU 
their proceedings. 

55. The earl of Essex, who now saw that all was to be ha- 
zarded, resolved to leave his house, and to sally forth to make 
an insurrection in the city. But he had made a very wrong es- 
timate in expecting that popularity alone could aid him in time 
of danger ; he issued out with about t'.vo hundred followers, arm* 
ed only with swords, and in his passage to the city was joined 
by the earl of Bedford and lord Cromwell. As he passed through 
the streets, he cried aloud, For the queen! for the queen! a plot 
is laid for my life I hoping to engage the populace to rise, but 
they had received orders from the mayor to keep within their 
houses ; so that he was not joined by a single person. 



Chap. 26. ELIZABETH. 131 

56: In this manner, attended by a few of his followers, the 
rest having privately retired, he made towards the river ; and, 
taking a boat, arrived once more at Essex house, where he be- 
gan to make preparations for his defence. But his case was too 
desperate for any remedy from valour ; wherefore, after demand- 
ing in vain for hostages and conditions from his besiegers, he 
surrendered at discretion^ requesting only civil treatment, and a 
fair and impartial hearing. 

57. Essex and Southampton were immediately carried to the. 
archbishop's palace at Lambeth ; from whence they were next 
day conveyed to the Tower, and tried by their peers, on the 
nineteenth of February following. Little could be urged in their 
defence ; their guilt was too flagrant, and though it deserved pity, 
it could not meet an acquittal. Essex after condemnation was 
visited by that religious horror which seemed to attend him in 
all his disgraces. He was terrified almost to despair by the ghost- 
ly remonstrances of liis own chaplain, he was reconciled to his 
enemies, and made a full confession of his conspiracy. 

58. It is alleged upon this occasion, that he had strong hopes of 
pardon, from the irresolution which the queen seemed to disco- 
ver before she signed the warrant for his execution. She had 
given him formerly a ring, which she desired him to send her in 
any emergency of this nature, and that it should procure his 
safety and protection. This ring was actually sent by the coun- 
tess of Nottingham, who being a concealed enemy to the unfor- 
tunate earl, never delivered it ; while Elizabeth was secretly 
fired at his obstinacy in making no ap[jlication for mercy and for- 
giveness. 

59. The fact is she appeared hcrsolf as much an object of pity, 
as the unfortunate nobleman she was induced to condemn. She 
signed the warrant for his execution, she countermanded it, she 
again resolved on his death, and again felt a new return of ten- 
derness. At last she gave her consent to his execution, and was 
never seen to enjoy one happy day more. 

60. With the death of her fivourite Essex, all Ehzabeth's 
pleasures seemed to expire : she afterwards went through the 
business of state merely from habit ; but her satilfoctiSns were 
no more. Her distress was more than sufficient to destroy the 
remains of her constitution ; and her end was now visibly seen 
to approach. Her voice soon after left her ; she fell into a le- 
thargic slumber, which continued some hours, and ^he expired 
gently without a groan, in the seventieth year of her age, and 
the forty-fifth of her reign. Her character differed with her cir 
curastances ; in the beginning she was moderate and humble , 
towards the end of her reign haughty and severe. Though she 
was possessed of excellent seuse^yet she never had the discerr 



132 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 20, 

ment to discover that she wanterl beauty ; ana to flatter her 
charms at the age of sixty-five, was the surest road to her favour 
and esteem. 

GI. But whatever were her personal defects, as a queen she 
iS to be ever remembered by the Enghsh with gratitude. It is 
true, indeed, that she carried her prerogative in padiament to 
its highest pitch, so that it was tacitly allowed in that assembly 
that she was abov^e all laws, and could make and unmake them at 
her pleasure ; yet still she was so wise and good, as to enforce 
few act« of her prerogative, which were not for the benefit of 
her people. It is true, in like manner, that the English, during 
her reign, were put in possession of no new, splendid acquisi- 
lions ; but commerce was daily growing up among them, and 
the people began to find that the theatre of their truest conquests 
v/as to be on the bosom of the ocean, 

62. A nation which hitherto had been the object of every in- 
vasion, and a prey to every plunderer, now asserted its strength 
in turn, and became terrible to its invaders. — The successful 
voyages of the Spaniards and Portuguese began to excite their 
emulation ; and they fitted out several expeditions for discover- 
ing a shorter passage to the East Indies. The famous sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh, without any assistance from government, colonized 
New-England, while internal commerce was making equal im- 
provements ; and many Flemings, persecuted in their native 
country, found, together with their arts and industry, an easy 
asj'lum in England. 

G3. Thus the whole island seemed as if roused by her long 
habits of barbarity ; arts, commerce and legislation, began to ac- 
quire nevf strength every day ; and such was the state of learn- 
mg at that time, that some fix that period as the Augustan age of 
England. Sir Walter Raleigh and Hooker are considered as 
among the first improvers of our language ; Spencer and Shaks- 
peare are too well known as poets to be praised here ; but ot 
all mankind Francis Bacon lord Verulam, who flourished in this 
reign, deserves as a philosopher, the highest applause ; his style 
is copious andxorrect, and his wit is only surpassed by his learn- 
ing and peneflration. 

64. If we look through history, and consider the rise of king- 
doms, we shall scarce find an instance of a people, becoming, in 
so short a time, wise, powerful and happy. Liberty, it is true 
still continued to fluctuate ; Elizabeth knew her own power, 
and stretched it to the very verge of despotism ; but now that 
commerce was introduced, liberty soon after followed ; for there 
never was a nation perfectly commercial that submitted long to 
slaver v. 



Chap. 27. JAMES I 133 

CHAPTER XXVII.-^James I. 

1. James, the sixth of Scotland, and the first of England, the 
son of Mary, came to the throne with the universal approbation 
of all orders of the state, as in Kia person were united every 
claim that either descent, bequest, or parliamentary sanction 
could confer. Hov/ever, in the very beginning of his reign a 
conspiracy was set on foot, the particulars of which are but ob- 
scurely related. It is said to have been begun by lord Gray, 
lord Cobham, and sir Walter Raleigh, who were all condemnetl 
to die, but had their sentence mitigated by the king, Cobham 
and Gray were pardoned, after they had laid their heads on the 
block. Raleigh was reprieved, but remained in confinement 
many years afterwards, ajid at last suffered for this offence, which 
was never proved. 

2. Mild as this monarch was in toleration, there was a project 
contrived in the very beginning of his reign, for the re-establish- 
mcnt of popery, which were it not a Ivnown fict to all the world, 
could scarcely be credited by posterity. This was the gunpow- 
der plot, than which a mm-e horrid or terrible scheme never en- 
tered into the human heart. 

3. The Roman catholics had expected great favour and indul- 
gence on the accession of James, both as a descendant of Mary, a 
rigid catholic, and also as having shown some partiality to that re- 
ligion in his youth. But they soon discovered their mistake ; 
and were at once surprise^! and enraged to lind James on ail oc- 
casions express his resolution of strictly executing the laws en- 
acted against them, and of persevering in the conduct of his pre- 
decessor. This declaration determined them upon more des-f 
perate measures ; and they at length formed a resolution of de- 
stroying the king and both houses of parliament at a blow. The 
scheme was first broached by Robert Catesby, a gentleman of good 
]!arts and ancient family, who conceived that a train of gunpow- 
der might be so placed under the parliament house, as to blow 
up the king and all the members at once. 

4. How horrid soever this contrivance might appear, yet every 
member seemed faithful and secretin the league, and about two 
months before the sitting of parliament, they hired a house in 
Percy's name, adjoining to that in v.hicli parliament was to as- 
semble. Their first intention was to bore away under the par- 
liament house, from that which tlM^y occupied, and they set them- 
selves laboriously to the task ; but when they had pierced the 
wall, which was three yards in thickness, on approaching the 
other side, they were surprised to find that the house vras vault- 
ed underneath, and that a quantity of coals was usually deposit- 
ed there^r 



134 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 27 

5. From their disappointment on this account they were soon 
relieved by information that the coals were then selling off, and 
that the vaults would tl.en be let to the highest bidder. They 
therefore seized the opportunity of hiring the place, and bought 
the remaining quantity of coals with which it was then stored, as 
if for their own use. The next thing done was to convey thi- 
ther thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, which had been purchased 
in Holland, and the whole was covered with the coals, and with 
faggots brought for that purpose. Then the itoors of the cellar 
were boldly flung open, and every body admitted, as if it contain- 
ed nothing dangerous. 

6. Confident of success, they now began to plan the remaining 
part of their project. The king, the queen, and prince Henry, 
the king's eldest son, were all expected to be present at the open- 
ing of the parliament. The king's second son, by reason of his 
tender age would be absent, and it was resolved that Percy should 
seize or assassinate him. The princess Elizabeth, a child, like- 
wise, was kept at lord Harrington's house in Warwickshire ; and 
sir Edward Digby was to seize her, and imn? »diately proclaim 
her queen. 

7. The day for the sitting of parliamen lovv approached. 
Never was treason more secret, or ruin more apparently inevi- 
table ; the hour Avas expected with impatience, and the coiispi 
rators gloried in their meditated guilt. The dreadful secret, 
though communicated to above twenty persons, had been reli>- 
giously kept during the space of near a year and a half; when 
all the motives of pity, justice, and safety, were too weak, a re- 
morse of private fiiendship saved the kingdom. 

8. Sir Henry Percy, one of the conspirators, conceived a de- 
sign of saving the life of lord Mounteagle, his intimate friend ana 
companion, who was also of the same persuasion with himself. 
About ten days before the meeting of parliament, this nobleman 
upon his return to town, received a letter from a person un- 
known, and delivered by one who fled as soon as he had dis- 
charged his message. 

9. The letter was to this effect, " My lord, stay away from 
this parliament ; for God and man have concurred to punish the 
wickedness of the times. And think not slightly of this adver- 
tisement, but retire yourself into the country, where you may 
expect the event in safety. For though there be no appear- 
ance of any stir, yet I say they will receive a terrible blow this 
parliament ; and yet tliey shall not see who hurts them. This 
counsel is not to be contemned, because it may do you good, 
and can do you no harm ; for the danger is past as soon as you 
have burned the letter." 

10. The contents of this mysterious letter surprised and pu/.- 



Chap. 27. JAMES I. 136 

zled the nobleman to whom it was addressed ; and though in- 
clined to think it a foolish attempt to affright and ridicule him, 
yet he judged it safest to carry it to lord Salisbury, secretary of 
state. Lord Salisbury too was inclined to i^ive little attention 
to it, yet thought proper to lay it before the king in council, 
who came to town a few days after. None of the council were 
able to make any thing of it, although it appeared serious and 
alarming. In this universal agitation between doubt and appre- 
hension, the king was the first who penetrated the meaning of 
this dark epistle. 

11. He concluded that some sudden danger was preparing 
with gunpowder ; and it was thought advisable to inspect all 
the vaults below the houses of parliament. This care belong- 
ed to the earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who pur-vy 
posely delayed the search till the day before the meet- </^q^' 
ing of parliament. He remarked those great piles of 
faggots which lay in the vault under the house of peers, and 
seized a man preparing for the terrible enterprise, dressed in a 
cloak and boots, and a dark lantern in his hand. This was no 
other than Guy Fawkes, who had just disposed every part of 
the train for its taking fire next morning, the matches and other 
combustibles being found in his pockets. 

12. The whole of the design was now discovered ; but the 
atrociousness of his guilt, and the despair of pardon, inspiring 
nim with resolution, he told the oflicers of justice, with an un- 
daunted air, that had he blown them and himself up together, 
he had been happy. Before the council he displayed the same 
intrepid firmness, mixed even with scorn and disdain, refusing 
to discover his associates, and showing no concern but for the 
failure of his enterprise. But his bold spirit was at length sub- 
dued ; being confined to the Tower for two or three days, and 
the rack just shown him, his courage, fatigued with so long an 
effort, at last failed him, and he made a full discovery of all his 
accomplices. 

13. Catesby, Percy and the conspirators who were in Lon- 
don, hearing that Fawkes was arrested, fled with all speed to 
Warwickshire, where sir Edward Digby, relying on the success 
of the plot, was already in arms. But the country soon began 
io take the alarm, and wherever they turned, they found a supe- 
rior force ready to oppose them. In this exigence, beset on all 
«ides, they resolved, to about the number of eighty persons, to 
fly no farther, but made a stand at a house in Warwickshire, to 
defend it to the last, and sell their lives as dearly as possible. 

14. But even this miserable consolation was denied them, a 
spark of fire happening to fill among some gunpowder that was 
laid to dry, it blew up and so maimed the principal conspirators-. 



136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 27 

that the survivors resolved to open the gate, and sally out against 
the multitude that surrounded the house. Some were instantly 
cut to pieces, Catesby, Percy, and Winter, standing bark to back, 
fought long and desperately, till in the end the two first fell co- 
vered with wounds, and Winter was taken alive. 

15. Those that survived the slaughter were tried and convict- 
ed ; several fell by the hands of the executioner, and others 
experienced the king's mercy. The Jesuits Garnet and Oldcorn, 
who were privy to the plot, suffered with the rest ; and notwith- 
standing the atrociousness of their treason, Garnet was consider- 
ed by his party as a martyr, and miracles were said to have been 
wrought by his blood. 

\ T\ 16. The sagacity with which the king first discovered 
' „ ' the plot, raised the opinion of his wisdom among the peo- 
ple ; but the folly with which he gave himself up to his 
favourites quickly undeceived the nation. In the first rank of 
these etood Robert Carre, a youth of a good family in Scotland, 
who after havin-^ passed some time in his travels, arrived in Lon- 
don at about twenty years of age. All his natural accomplish- 
ments consisted in a pleasing visage, all his acquired abilities, in 
an easy and graceful demeanour. This youth was soon consi- 
dered as the most rising man at court ; he was kni<ghted, created 
viscount Rochester, honoured with the order of the garter, made 
a privy counsellor ; and, to raise him to the highest pitch of ho- 
nour, he was at last created earl of Somerset. 

17. This was an advancement which some regarded with 
envy ; but the v/iser part of mankind looked upon it with con- 
tempt and ridicule, sensible that ungrounded attachments are 
seldom of a long continuance. Some time after being accused 
and convicted, from private motives, of poisoning sir Thomas 
Overbury in the Tower, he fell under the king's displeasure, 
and being driven from court, spent the remainder of his life in 
contempt and self-conviction. 

18. But the king had not been so improvident as to part with 
one favourite until he had provided himself with another. This 
was George Villiers, a youth of one-and-twenty, a younger bro- 
ther of a good f imily, who was returned about that time from his 
travels, and whom the enemies of Somerset had taken occasion 
to throw in the king's way, certain that his beauty and fashion-, 
able manners would do the rest. Accordingly he had been plac- 
ed at a comedy, full in the king's view, and immediately caught 
the monarch's aflections. 

19. In the course of a few years he created him viscount Vil- 
liers, earl, marquis and duke of Buckingham, knight of the gar- 
ter, master of the horse, chief justice in Eyre, warden of the 
cinque ports, master of the king's bench office, steward of West- 
minster, constable of Windsor, and lord high admiral of England 



Chap. 27. JAMES I. 137 

20. The universal murmur which these foohsh attachments 
produced, was soon after heightened by an act of severity, which 
still continues as the blackest stain upon this monarch's memory. 
The brave and learned Raleigh had been confined in the Tower 
almost from the very beginning of James's accession, for a conspi- 
racy which had never been proved against him ; and in that abode 
of wretchedness he wrote several valuable performances, which 
are still in the highest esteem. His long sufferings, and liis in- 
genious writings, had now turned the tide of popular opinion in 
his favour, and they who once detested the enemy of Essex, 
could not now help pitying the long captivity of this philosophi- 
cal soldier. 

21. He himself still struggled for free<lom ; and perhaps it was 
with this desire that he spread the roport of his having disco- 
vered a gold mine in Guiana, which was sufficient to enrich, not 
only the adventurers who should seize it, but afford immense 
treasures to the nation. The king, either believing his asser- 
tions, or willing to subject him to further disgrace, granted him 
a commission to try his fortune in quest of these golden schemes ; 
out still reserved his former sentence, as a check upon his future 
behaviour. 

22. Raleigh was not long in making preparations for this ad 
venture, which, from the sanguine manne,r in which he carried 
it on, many believe he thought it to be as promising as he de- 
scribed it. He bent his course to Guiana, and remaining himself 
at the mouth of the river Oronoco, with five of the largest ships, 
he sent the rest up the stream under the comm ind of his son 
and of captain Keymis, a person entirely devoted to his interests. 
But instead of a country abounding in gold, as the adventurers 
had been taught to expect, they found the Spaniards had been 
warned of their approach, and were prepared in arms to receive 
them. 

23. Young Raleigh, to encourage his men, called out that 
'' This was the true mine," meaning the town of St. Thomas, 
which he was approaching, " and that none but fools looked for 
any other ;" but just as he was speaking, he received a shot, of 
which he immediately expired. This was followed by another 
disappointment, for when the English took possesion of the town, 
they found nothing in it of any value. 

24. Raleigh, in this forlorn situation, found now that all his 
hopes were over ; but saw his misfortunes still farther aggravat- 
ed by the reproaches of those whom he had undertaken to com- 
mand. Nothing could be more deplorable than his situation, 
particularly when he was told that he must be carried back to 
England, to answer for his conduct to the king. It is pretended, 
that he employed many artifices, first to engage them to attack 



138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 27 

the Spanish settlements at a time of peace ;, and failing of that, to 
make his escape into France. But all these proving unsuccess- 
ful, he was delivered into the king's hands, and strictly examin- 
ed, as well as his fellow-adventurers, before the privy council. 

25. Count Gondamer, the Spanish ambassador, made heavy 
complaints against the expedition, and the king declared, that 
Raleigh had express orders to avoid all disputes and hostilities 
against the Spaniards, Wherefore, to give the court of Spain a 
particular instance of his attachment, he signed the warrant for 
his execution, not for the present oifence, but for his former 
conspiracy. This great man died with the same fortitude that he 
had testified through life ; be observed, as he felt the edge of the 
axe, " that it was a sharp, but a sure remedy for all evils ;" his 
harangue to the people was calm and eloquent, and he laid his 
head dovvn on the block with the utmost indifference. 
XT) ^^' ^"^ there soon appeared very apparent reasons 
- A I o ' for James's partiality to the court of Spain. This monarch 
had entertained an opinion, which was peculiar to him- 
self, that in marrying his son Charles, the prince of Wales, any 
alliance below thit of royalty would be unworthy of him ; he 
therefore was obliged to seek either in the court of France or 
Spain, a suitable match, and he was taught to think of the latter 

27. Gondemar, who was ambassador from that court, perceiv 
mg this weak monarch's partiality to a crowned head, made an 
offer of the second daughter of Spain to prince Charles ; and 
that he might render the temptation irresistible, he gave hopes 
of an immense fortune, which should attend the princess. How- 
ever, this was a negotiation that was not likely soon to be ended ; 
and from the time the idea was first started, James saw five 
years elapse without bringing the treaty to any kind of con- 
clusion. 

28. A delay of this kind was very displeasing to the king, who 
had all along an eye on the great fortune of the princess ; nor 
was it less disagreeable to prince Charles, who, bred up with 
ideas of romantic passion, was in love without ever seeing the 
object of his affections. In this general tedium of delay, a pro- 
ject entered the head of Villiers, who had for some years ruled 
the king with absolute authority, that was fitter to be conceived 
by the knight of a romance, than by a minister and a statesman. 

29. It was projected that the prince should himself travel in 
disguise, into Spain, and visit the princess of that country in per- 
son. Buckingham, who wanted to ingratiate himself with the 
prince, offered to be his companion ; and the king, whose busi- 
ness it was to check so wild a scheme, gave his consent to this ,^ 
hopeful proposal. 

30. Their adventures on this strange project could fill novels ^ 



hap. 27. JAMES I. 139 

id have actually been the subject of many. Charles was the 
iiiglit errant, and Buckinghanri was his squire. The match, how- 
/er, broke off; the reason historians do not assign ; but if we 
ay eredit the novelists of that time*, the prince had already fix- 
i his affections upon the daughter of Henrj*^ IV. of France, whom 
e married shortly after. 

31. It may easily be supposed, that these mismanagements 
ere seen and felt by the people. The house of commons was 
y this time become quite unmanageable ; the prodigality of 
imes to his favourites, had made his necessities so many, that 
e was contented to sell the different branches of his prerogative 
> the commons, one after the other, to procure supplies. In 
iroportion as they perceived his wants they found out new griev- 
ices; and every grant of money was sure to come with a pe- 
tion for redress. 

! 32. The struggles between him and hi^ parliament had been 
[•owing more and more violent every session ; and the very last 
ivanced their pretensions to such a degree, that he began to 
ike the alarm; but these evils fell upon his successor, which 
le weakness of this monarch had contributed to give birth to. 

33. These domestic troubles v/ere attended by others still 
lore important in Germany, and which produced in the end the 
lost dangerous effects. The king's eldest daughter had been 
larried to Frederic, the elector Palatine of Germany, and this 
rince revolting against the emperor Ferdinand the second, was de- 
bated in a decisive battle, and obliged to take refuge in Holland. 

34. His affinity to the English crown, his misfortunes, but par- 
cularly the protestant religion, for which he had contended, 
r'ere strong motives for tlie people of England to wish well to 
is cause; and frequent addresses were sent from the commoni; 
3 spur up James to take a part in the German contest, and to 
eplace the exiled prince upon the throne of his ancestors. 

35. James at first attempted to ward off the misfortunes of his 
on-in-law by negotiations ; but these proving utterly ineffectu- 
1, it was resolved at last to rescue tlie Palatinate from » jy 
he emperor by force of arms. Accordingly war was de- -i'qqq 
lared against Spain and the emperor ; six thousand men 

vere sent over into Holland, to assist prince Maurice in his 
chemes against those powers ; the people were every where 
dated at the courage of their king, and were satisfied with any 
var which was to extermiriate the papists. 

36. This army was followed by another consisting of twelve 
housand men, commanded by count Mansfeldt ; and the court of 
F'rance promised its assistance. But the English were disap- 
;)ointed in all their views ; the troops being embarked at Dover, 
jpon sailing to Calais, they found no orders for their admission 



*0 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 28. 

37. After waiting in vain for some time, they were obliged to 
sail towards Zealand, where no proper measures were yet con- 
sulted for their disembarkation. Meanwhile, a pestilential dis- 
temper crept in among the forces so long cooped up in narrow 
vessels ; half the army died while on board, and the other hall, 
weakened by sickness, appeared too small a body to march into 
the Palatinate ; and thus ended this ill concerted and fruitlcs'^ 
expedition. 

38. Whether this misfortune had any effect upon James's con- 
stitution is uncertain ; but he was soon after seized with a ter- 

. Pj tian ague, and when his courtiers assured him from the 
* ' proverb, that it was health for a king, he replied that the 
* proverb was meant for a young king. After some tits; 
he found himself extremely weakened, and sent for the prince, 
wliom he exhorted to perse^ ere in the protestant religion ; then 
preparing with decency and courage to meet hh end, he expir- 
ed, after a reign over England of twenty-two years, and in the 
fifty-ninth year of his age. 



CHAPTER XXVni.— Charles I. ; 

J, Y) ^- ^^^ princes ever ascended a throne with more ap- 

ip6)r pai'ent advantages than Charles, and none ever encoun-, 

tered more real difficulties. , 

2. Indeed he undertook the reins of government with a fixed 
persuasion that his popularity was sufficient to carry every mea- 
sure. He had been loaded with a treaty for defending the prince 
Palatine, his brother-in-law, in the late reign ; and the war de- 
clared for that purpose was to be carried on with vigour in this..; 
But war was more easily declared than supplies granted. After 
some reluctance the commons voted him two subsiiiies ; a sunc^ 
far from being sufficient to support him in his intended equip-; 
ment. 

3. To supply the want of parliamentary aids, Charles had re- 
course to some of the ancient methods of extortion practised by 
sovereigns when in necessitous circumstances. That kind o; 
tax called a benevolence was ordered to be exacted, and priv} 
seals were issued accordingly. With this the people were obligi 
ed, though reluctantly to comply ; it was in fact authorised by 
many precedents ; but no precedents whatsoever could give a'^ 
sanction to injustice. 

4. After an inetiectual expedition to Cadiz, another attempt : 
was made to obtain supplies in a more regular and constitutional! 
manner than before. And the parliament was accordingly called ;'} 
and thougjh some steps were taken to exclude the more popular 

i 



>hap. 23. CHARLES I. 141 

eaclers of the last house of commons, by nominating them as 
heriffs of counties, yet the present parliament seemed more re- 
ractory tlian the former. 

5. When tiie king laid before tlie house his necessities, and 
[sked for a supply, they voted him only three subsidies, which 
mounted to about a hundred and sixty thousand pounds ; a sum 

10 way adequate to the importance of the war, or the necessities 
)f the state. In order, therefore, to gain a sufficient suppJ}'^, a 
commission was openly granted to compound with the catholics, 
ind agree for a dispensation of the penal laws against them. 

6. He borrowed a sum of money from the nobility, whose con- 
ributions came in but slowly. But the greatest stretch of his 
)ower was in the levying of ship money. In order to equip a 
leet, (at least this was tlie pretence made) each of the maritime 
owns was required, with the assistance of the adjacent counties, 
o arm as many vessels as were appointed them. The city of 
London was rated at twenty ships. This was the commence- 
nent of a tax which afterwards being carried to such violent 

lengths, created such great discontents in the nation. 
! 7. War being soon after declared against France, a fleet was 
'sent out under the command of Buckingham, to relieve Rochelle 
^ maritime town in that kingdom, that had long enjoyed its pri- 
vileges independent of the French king, but that had for some 
fvears embraced the reformed religion, and now was besieged 
irvith a formidable army. 

8. This expedition was as unfortunate as that to the coast of 
Spain. The duke's measures were so ill concerted, that the in- 
habitants of the city shut their gates, and refused to admit allies, 
of whose coming they were not previously informed. Instead of 
attacking the island of Oleron, which was fertile and defenceless, 
he bent his course to the island of Rhe, which was garrisoned 
and well fortilied. He attempted there to starve out the garri- 
son of St Martin's castle, which was plentifully supplied v/ith 
provi'sions by sea. 

9. By this lime the French had landed their forces privately 
at another part of the island, so that Buckingham was at last 
obligisd to retreat, but with such precipitation, that two-thirds 
of his army were cut in pieces, before he could re-embark, 
though he was the last man in the whole army that quitted the 
shore. This proot of his personal courage, however, was but a 
jsmall subject of consolation for the disgrace which his country 
had sustained, for his own person would have been the last they 
would have regretted. 

10. The contest between the king and the commons every 
day grew warmer. The officers of the custom house were sum- 
moned before the commons, to give an account by what authority 



142 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 28 

they seized the goods of the merchants, who had refused to 
pay the duty of tonnage and poundage, which they alleged was 
levied without the sanction of a law. 

U. The barons of the exchequer were questioned concern- 
ing their decrees on that head ; and the sheriiTof London was 
committed to the Tower for his activity in supporting the custom-, 
house officers. These were bold measures, but the commons 
went still farther, by a resolution to examine into religious griev- 
ances, and a new spirit of intoler,mce began to appear. 

j^ 12. The king, therefore, resolved to dissolve a parlia-; 

* Q * ment which he found himself unable to manage ; and sir 

* John Finch, the speaker, just as the question concerning 

tonnage and poundage was going to be put, rose up and informed 

the house, that he had a command from the king to adjourn. 

13. The house upon this was in an uproar ; the speaker was: 
pushed back into his chair, and forceably held in it by Hollis and. 
Valentine, till a short remonstrance v/as framed, and passed by, 
acclamation rather than vote. In this hasty production papists 
and armenians were declared capital enemies to the state. Ton- 
nage and poundage were condemned as contrary to law ; and 
not only those who raised that duty, but those who paid it, were: 
considered as guilty of capital crimes. | 

14. In consequence of this violent procedure, sir Miles Ho-* 
bart, sir Peter Heym in, Seldon, Coriton, Long and Strode, were,, 
by the king's order, committed to prison, under pretence of se-: 
dition. But the same temerity that impelled Charles to imprisoa 
them, induced him to grant t'lem a release. Sir John Elliot, Hol- 
lis, and Valentine, were summoned before the king's bench, butj 
refu.*ngto appear before an inferior tribunal, for faults commit-1 
ted in a superior, they were condemned to be imprisoned dur- 
ing the king's pleasure, to pay a tine, the two former of a thou- 
sand pounds each, and the latter of five hundred, and to find 
sureties for their good behaviour. The members triumphed in 
their sufferings, while they had the whole kingdom as spectators 
and applauders of their fortitude. 

15. In the mean time, while the king was thus distressed by 
the obstinacy of the commons, he felt a much severer blow in 
the death of his fivourite, the duke of Buckingham, who fell u 
sacrifice to his unpopularity. It had been resolved once more 
to undertake the raising of the siege of Rochelle ; the earl of 
Denbigh, brother-in-law to Buckingham, was sent thither, but 
returned without affecting any thing. 

16. In order to repair this disgrace, the duke of Buckingham 
went in person to Portsmouth, to hurry on another expedition 
and to punish such as had endeavoured to defraud the crown ot 
the legal assessments. In the general discontent that prevailed 

m 



Chap. 28. CHARLES 1. 143 

against this nobleman, it was daily expected that some severe mea- 
sures would be resolved on : and he was stigmatized as the tyrant 
and the betrayer of his country. 

17. There was one Felton, who caught the gener.il contagion ; 
an Irishman of a good family, who had served under the duke as 
lieutenant, but had resigned, on being refused his rank on the 
death of his captain, who had been killed at the isle of Rhe. 
This man was naturally melancholy, courageous and enthusi- 
astic ; he felt for his country, as if labouring under a calamity 
which he thought it in the power of his single arm to remove. 

18. He therefore resolved to kill the duke, and thus revenge 
his own private injuries, while he did service also to God and 
man. Animated in this manner with gloomy zeal, and mistaken 
patriotism, he travelled down to Portsmouth alone, and enter- 
ed the town while the duke was surrounded by his levee, and 
giving out ^le necessary orders for embarkation. While he was 
speaking to one of his colonels, Felton struck him over an offi- 
cer's shoulder in the breast with his knife. 

19. The duke had only time to say, " The villain has killed 
me," when he fell at the colonel's feet and instantly expired. 
No one had seen the blow, nor the person that gave it ; but a 
nat being picked up, on the inside of which was sewed a paper 
containing four or five lines of the remonstrance of the commons 
against the duke, it was concluded that this hat must belong to 
llie assassin ; and while they were employed in conjectures 
whose it should be, a man without a hat was seen walking very 
composedly before the door, and was heard to cry out, "I am 
he." 

20. He disdained denying a murder in which he gloried ; and 
averred, that he looked upon the duke as an enemy to his coun- 
try, and as such deserving to suffer. When asked at whose in- 
stigation he had performed that horrid deed, he answered, that 
they need not trouble themselves in that inquiry ; that his con- 
science was his only prompter, and that no man on earth could 
dispose him to act against its dictates. He suffered with the same 
degree of constancy to the last ; nor were there many wanting 
who admired not only his fortitude, but the action for which he 
sufifered. 

21. The king's first measure, now that he was left . j^ 
without a minister and 5 parliament, was a prudent one. -I't^aq' 
He made peace with the two crowns, against whom he 

hiid hitherto waged war, which had been entered upon without 
necessity, and conducted without glory. Being freed from these 
embarrassments, he bent his whole attention to the management 
of the internal policy of the kingdom, and took two men as his 
associates in this task, who still acted an under part to himself 



144 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3d 

These were sir Thomas Wentworth, afterwards created eai^l of 
Strafford ; and Laud, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury. 

22. While Laud, therefore, during this long interval, ruled 
the church, the king and Straflford undertook to manage the tem- 
poral interests of the nation. A declaration was dispersed, im- 
plying, that during this reign no more parliaments would be sum- 
moned ; and every measure of the king but too well served to 
confirm the suspicion. 

23. Tonnage and poundage were continued to be levied by 
royal authority alone ; customhouse officers received orders 
from the council to enter any house whatever, in search of sus- 
pected goods ; compositions were openly made with papists, and 
their religion was become a regular part of the revenue. The 
high commission court of Star Clwimber exercised its power in- 
dependent of any law, upon several bold innovators in liberty, 
who only glorie»d in their suiferings, and contributed to render 
government odious and contemptible. 

24. Prynne, abarrister of Lincoln's inn ; Burton a divine ; and 
Bastwick, a physician, were tried before this tribunal for schis- 
matic libels, in which they attacked, with great severity and m- 
temperate zeal, the ceremonies of the church of England. They 
were condemned to be pilloried, to lose their ears, and to pay 
five thousand pounds to the king. 

25. Every year, every month, every day gave fresh instances 
during this long intermission of parliaments, of the resolutions of 
the court to throw them off for ever ; but the levying of ship 
Bioney, as it was called, being a general burthen, was universally 
complained of as a national grievance. This was a tax which 
had in former reigns been levied without the consent of parlia- 
ment ; but then the exigency of the state demanded such a 
supply. 

26. John Hampden, a gentleman offortune in Buckinghamshire, 
refused to comply with the tax, and resolved to bring it to a le- 
gal determination. He had been rated at twenty shillings for his 
estate, which he refused to pay ; and the case was argued twelve 
days in the exchequer chamber, before all the judges of England. 

27. The nation regarded with the utmost anxiety, the result 
of atrial that was to fix the limits of the king's power. All the 
judges, four only excepted, gave sentence in favour of the crown ; 
while Hampden, who lost his cause, was more than sufficiently 
recompensed by the applauses of the people. 

28. The discontent and oppositions which the king met with 
in maintaining episcopacy among his English subjects might, one 
would think, have hindered him from attempting to introduce it 
among those of Scotland, where it was generally hateful. Hav- 
ing published an order for reading the liturgy in the principal 



Chap. 28 CHARLES I. 14b 

church in Edinburgh, the people received it with clamours and 
imprecations. The seditious disposition of that kingdom, which 
had hitherto been kept within bounds, was now too furious for 
restraint, and the insurrection became general over all the coun- 
try, and the Scots flew to arms with great animosity. 

29. Yet still the king could not think of desisting from his de- 
sign ; and so prepossessed was he in favour of royal right, that 
he thought the very name of king, when forcibly urged, would 
induce them to return to their duty. Instead therefore, of fight- 
ing with his opponents, he entered upon a treaty with them ; so 
that a suspension of arms was soon agreed upon, and a treaty of 
peace concluded, which neither side intended to observe ; and 
then both parties agreed to disband their forces. After much 
altercation, and many treaties signed and broken, both parties 
once more had recourse to arms, and nothing but blood could sa- 
tiate the contenders. 

30. War being thus resolved on, the king took every method 
as before, for raising money to support it. Ship money was le- 
vied as usual, some other arbitrary taxes were exacted from the 
reluctant people with great severity ; but these were far from 
being sufficient ; and there now remained only one method more, 
the long neglected one of a parliamentary supply. 

31. The new house of commons, however, could not be in- 
duced to treat the Scots, who were of the same principles with 
themselves, and contending against the same ceremonies, as ene- 
mies to the state. They regarded them as friends and brothers, 
who first rose to teach them a duty it was incumbent on all vir- 
tuous minds to Imitate. The king, therefore, could reap no other 
fruits from this assiembl}^ than murmurings and complaints. 

32. Everjf method he had taken to supply himself with money 
was declared an abuse, and a breach of the constitution. The 
king, therefore, finding no hopes of a compliance with his re- 
quest, but recrimination instead of redress, once more dissolved 
the parliament, to try more feasible methods of removing his ne 
cessities. 

33. His necessities, however, continuing, that parliament was 
called which did not cease sitting till they overturned the con- 
stitution. Without any interval, they entered upon business, 
and by unanimous consent they struck a blow that might be re- 
garded as decisive. Instead of granting the demanded subsidies, 
they impeached the earl of Strafford, the king's first minister, 
and had him arraigned before the house of peers for high treason. 

34. After a long and eloquent speech, delivered without pre- 
meditation, in which he confuted all the accusations of his ene- 
mies, he was found guilty by both houses of parliament ; ana 
nothing remained but for the king to give his consent to the bill 

a 



i46 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 28. 

of attainder. Charles, who loved Strafford tenderly, hesitated, 
and seemed reluctant, trying every expedient to put oflf so dread- 
ful a duty as that of signing the warrant for his execution. 

35. While he continued in this agitation of mind, not knowing 
how to act, his doubts were at last silenced by an act of heroic 
bravery in the condemned lord. He received a letter from that 
unfortunate nobleman, desiring that his life might be made the 
sacrifice of a mutual reconciliation between the king and the peo- 
ple ; adding, that he was prepared to die, and to a willing mind 
there could be no injury. 

36. This instance of noble generosity was but ill repaid by his 
master, who complied with his request. He consented to the 
signing of the fatal bill by commission ; Strafford was beheaded 
on Tower hill, behaving with all that composed dignity of reso- 
lution that was expected from his character. 

37. In this universal rage for punishment, the parliament fell 
"with great justice on two courts, which had been erected under 
arbitrary kings, and had seldom been employed but in cases of i 
necessity. These were the high commission court, and the court! 
of Star Chamber. A bill unanimously passed the houses to .abo- 
lish both ; and in them to annihilate the principal and most dan- 
gerous articles in the king's prerogative. f 

38. In the midst of these troubles, the papists of Ireland fan- ! 
cied they found a convenient opportunity of throwing off the 
English yoke, and accordingly resolved to cut off all the protest- 
ants of the kingdom at a stroke, so that neither age, sex, nor con- 
dition, received any pity. In such indiscriminate slaughter, nei-li 
ther former benefits, nor alliances, nor authority, were any pro- 
tection ; numberless were the instances of friends murdering j , 
their intimates, relations their kinsmen, and servants their mas-lf 
ters. In vain did flight save from the first assault ; destruction, thalj $ 
had an extensive spread, met the haunted victims at every turn, (i 

39. The king took all the precautions in his power, to show hii\% 
utter detestation of these bloody proceedings ; and being sensifo 
ble of his own inability to suppress the rebellion, had once mor< es 
recourse to his English parliament, and craved their assistance pe 
for a supply. But here he found no hopes of assistance ; maniled 
insinuations were thrown out that he had himself fomented thii|oui 
rebellion, and no money could be spared for the extinction olanfl 
distant dangers, when they pretended that the kingdom wa 4 
threatened with greater at home. aco 

40. It was now that the republican spirit began to appeal % 
without any disguise, in the present parliament ; and that part} aw; 
instead of attacking the faults of the king, resolved to destro tliei 
monarchy. | ^( 

41. The leaders of the opposition began their operations hwnii 



ehap. 28 CHARLES I. 147 

resolution to attack episcopacy, which was one of the strongest 
bulwarks of the royal power. They accused thirteen hi- . ^ 
shops of high treason, for enacting canons without the con- . \ . . ' 
sent of parliament ; and endeavoured to prevail upon the ° 
house of peers to exclude all the prelates from their scats and 
votes in that august assembly. The bishops saw the storm that 
was gathering against them, and probably, to divert its effects, 
they resolved to attend their duty in the house of lords no longer. 

42. This was a fatal blow to the ro3'al interest, but it soon 
felt a much greater from the king's ov/n imprudence, Charles 
had long suppressed his resentment, and only strove to satisfy 
the commons by the greatness of his concessions ; but finding 
that all his compliance had but increased their demands, he could 
no longer contain. He gave orders to Herbert his attorney gene- 
ral, to enter an accusation of high treason in the house of peers 
against lord Kimbolton, one of the most popular men of his party, 
together with five commoners, sir Arthur Haslerig, HoUis, Hamp- 
den, Pym and Strode. 

43. The articles v/ere that they had traiterously endeavoured 
to subvert the fundamental laws and government of fhe kingdom 
to deprive the king of his regal power, and to impose on his sub 
jects an arbitrary and tyrannical authority. Men had scarce lei 
«ure to wonder at the precipitancj-^ and imprudence of this im- 
peachment, when they were astonished by another measure still 
more rash and more unsupported. The next day the king him- 
self was seen to enter the house of commons alone, advancing 
through the hall, while all the members stood up to receive him. 

44. The speaker withdrew from his chair, and the king took 
possession of it. Having seated himself, and looked around him 
for some time, he told the house that he was sorry for the occa- 
sion that forced him thither, that he was come in person to seize 
the members whom he had accused of high treason, seeing they 
would not deliver them up to his serjeant at arms. He then sat 
for some time to see if the accused were present ; but they had 
escaped a few minutes before his entry. Thus disappointed, 
perplexed, and not knowing on whom to rely, he next proceed- 
ed, amidst the clamours of the populace, who continued to cry 
out, " Privilege ! Privilege !" to the common council of the city, 
and made his complaint to them. 

45. The common council only answered his complaints with 
a contemptuous silence ; and on his return, one of the populace 
more insolent than the rest, cried out, " To your tents, O Israel '." 
a watch word among the Jews, when they intended to abandon 
their princes 

46. Being returned to Windsor, he began to reflect on the 
rashness of his former proceedings ; and now too late resolved 



148 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap 28 

to make some atonement. He therefore wrote to the parlia 
ment, informing them that he desisted from his former proceed- 
ings against the accused members ; and assured them, that upon 
all occasions he would be as careful of their privileges, as of his 
life or his crown. Thus, his former violence had rendered him 
hateful to his commons, and his present submission now render- 
ed him contemptible. 

47. The power of appointing generals, and levying armies^ 
was still a remaining prerogative of the crown. The commons 
having therefore first magnified their terrors of popery, which 
perhaps they actually dreaded, they petitioned that the Tower 
might be put into their hands, and that Hull, Portsmouth, and the 
fleet, should be entrusted to persons of their choosing. 

48. These were requsts, the complying with which, lerelled 
all that remained of the ancient constitution ; however, such was 
the necessity of the times, that they were at first contested, and 
then granted. At last every compliance only increasing the 
avidity of making fresh demands, the commons desired to have a 
militia, raised and (governed by such officers and commanders ai 
they should nominate, under pretext of securing them from the 
Irish papists, of whom they were in great apprehensions. 

49. It was here that Charles first ventured to put a stop to hi^ 
concessions, and being urged to give up the command of the army* 
for an appointed time, he was so exasperated, that he exclaimed^ 
*' No, not for an hour." This peremptory refusal broke off a " 
further treaty ; and both sides were now resolved to have re 
course to arms. } 

. ,-. 50. No period since England began could show so 
' _* many instances of courage, abilities and virtue, as the 
present fatal opposition called forth into exertion. Now 
was the time when talent of all kinds, unchecked by authority, 
was called from the lower ranks of life, to dispute for power 
and pre-eminence. 

51. Manifestoes, on the one side and the other, were now disr 
persed throughout the whole kingdom, and the people were uni- 
versally divided between two factions, distinguished by the names 
€f Cavaliers and Roundheads. The king's forces appeared in a 
very low condition ; besides the trainbands of the county, raised 
by sir John Digby, the sheriff, he had not got together thret 
hundred infantry. 

52. His cavalry, which composed his chief strength, exceed- 
ed not eight hundred, and were very ill provided with arms 
However, he was soon gradually reinforced from all quarters 
but not being then in a condition to face his enemies, he though 
it prudent to retire, bv slow marches, to Derby, and thence tc 



H 



h 



Chap. 28. CHARLES I. 149 

Shrewsbury, in order to countenance the levies which his friends 
were mailing in those quarters. 

63. In the mean time the parliament were not remiss in pre- 
parations on their side. They had a magazine of arms at Hull, 
and sir John Hotham was appointed governor of that place by 
parliament. The forces also, which had been e\ery where rais- 
ed, on pretence of the service in Ireland, were now more open- 
I}' enlisted by the parliament for their own purposes, and the 
command given to the earl of Essex, a bold man, who rather de- 
sired to see monarchy abridged than totally destroyed, and in 
London, no less than four thousand men were enlisted in one d^y. 

64. Edgehill was the first place where the two armies were 
put in array against each other, and the country drenched in ci- 
vil slaughter. It was a dreadful sight to see above thirty thou- 
sand of the bravest men in the worl^, instead of employing theij- 
courage abroad, turning it against each other, while the dearest 
friends, and nearest kinsmen, embraced opposite sides, and pre- 
pared to bury their private regards in factious hatred. After 
an engagement of some hours, animosity seemed to be wearied 
out, and both sides separated with equal loss. Five thousand 
men are said to have been found dead on the field of battle. 

66. It would be tedious, fxnd no way instructive, to enter into 
the marchmgs and countermarchings of these undisciplined and 
jU conducted armies ; war was a new trade to the English, as they 
had not seen a hostile engagement in the island for near a cen- 
tury before. The queen came to reinforce the royal party ; she 
had brought soldiers and ammunition from Holland, and immedi- 
ately departed to furnish more. 

60. But the parliament, who knew its own consequence and 
strength, v/as no wa}^ discouraged. Their demands seemed to 
increase in proportion to their losses, and asthej^ were repress- 
ed in the field, they grew more haughty in the cabinet. Sucii 
governors as gave up their fortresses to the king, were attainted 
of high treason. 

67. It was in vain for the king to send proposals after any 
success ; this only raised their pride and animosity. But though 
this desire in the king to make peace with his subjects, was 
the highest encomium on his humanity, yet his long negotiations, 
one of which he carried on at Oxford, were faulty as a warrior. 
He wasted that time in altercation and treaty, which he should 
have employed in vigorous exertions in the field. 

58. However, the first campaign, upon the whole, wore a fa- 
vourable aspect. One victory followed after another ; Cora- 
wall was reduced to peace and obedience under the king ; a vic- 
tory was gained over the parliamentarians at Stratton hill, in De- 
vonshire ; another at Roundway Down, about two miles froni 



150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 28 

the Devizes ; and still a third at Chalgrave field. Bristol was 
besieged and taken, and Gloucester was invested ; and the bat- 
tle of Newbury was favourable to the royal cause, and great 
hopes of success were formed from an army in the noith, raised 
by the marquis of Ne;vcastle. 

59. In this first campaign, the two bravest and greatest men 
of their respective parties were killed, as if it was intended by 
the kindness of Providence, that they should be exempted from 
seeing the miseries and the slaiighter which were shortly to en- 
sue. These were John Hampden, and Lucius Gary, lord Falk- 
land, the first in a skirmish against prince Rupert, the other in 
the battle of Newbury, which followed shortly after. 

60. Hampden, whom we have seen in the beginning of these 
troubles refuse to pay ship money, gained, by his inflexible in- 
tegrity, the esteem even of 4iis enemies. To these he added af- 
fability in conversation, temper, art, eloquence in debate, and 
penetration in council. 

61. Falkland was still a greater loss, and a greater character. 
' He added to Hampden's severe principles a politeness and ele- 
gance, but then beginning to be known in England. He had bold- 
ly withstood the king's pretensions, while he saw him making 
a bad use of his power ; but when he perceived the design of the 
parliament, to overturn the religion and constitution of his coun- 
tiy, he changed his side, and steadfastly attached himself to the 
crown. 

62. From the beginning of the civil war his natural cheerful- 
ness and vivacity forsook him, he became melancholy, sad, pale, 
and negligent of his person, and seemed to wish for death. His 
usual cry among his friends, after a deep silence, and frequent 
sighs, was, Peace ! Peace 1 

63. He now said, upon the morning of the engagement, that j 
he was weary of the times, and should leave them before night. 
He was shot by a musket ball in the belly ; and his body was 
next morning found among a heap of slain. His writings, his ele-ll 
gance, his justice and his courage, deserved such a death of glo- 
ry, and they found it. 

64. The king, that he might make preparations during the 
winter for the ensuing campaign, and to oppose the designs of 
the Westminster parliament, called one at Oxford, and this was 
the first time that England saw two parliaments sitting at the 
same time. His house of peers was pretty full; his house of 
commons consisted of about a hundred and forty, which amount-r 
ed to not above half of the other house of commons. From this 
shadow of a parliament he received some supplies, after which 
it was prorogued, and never after assembled. i 
, Go. In the mean time Ihc parliament was eq\ially active cix i 



Chap. 98. CHARLES I. 151 

their side. They passed an ordinance, commanding all the inhabit- 
ants of London and its neighbourhood to retrench a meal a week, 
and to pay the value of it for the support of the public cause. 
But what was much more effectual, the Scotch, who consider- 
ed their claims as similar, led a strong body to their assistance. 

66. They levied an army of fourteen thousand men in the east . 
under the earl of Manchester : they had an army of ten thou- 
sand men under Essex, another of nearly the same force, under 
sir William Waller. These were superior to any force the king 
could bring into the field, and were well provided with ammuni- 
tion, provisions and pay. 

67. Hostilities, which even during the winter season . y. 
had never been wholly discontinued, were renewed in ica/ 
the spring with their usual fury, and served to desolate 

the kingdom, without deciding victor)^ Each county joined that 
side to which it was addicted from motives of conviction, inte- 
rest or fear, though some observed a perfect neutrality. Seve- 
ral frequently petitioned for peace ; and all the wise and good 
were earnest in the cry. 

68. What particularly deserves remark, was an attempt of the 
women of London, who to the number of two or three thousand, 
went in a body to the house of commons, earnestly demanding a 
peace. " Give us those traitors," said they, "that are against a 
peace ; give them that we may tear them in pieces." The guards 
found some difficulty inqueUing this insurrection, and one or two 
women lost their lives in the fray. 

69. The battle of Marston Moore was the beginning of the 
king's misfortunes and disgrace. The Scottish and parliamenta- 
rian army had joined, and were besieging York, when prince 
Rupert, joined by the marquis of Newcastle, determined to raise 
the siege. Both sides drew up on Marston Moore, to the num- 
ber of fifty thousand, and the victory seemed lo^ and unde- 
cided between them. 

70. Rupert, who commanded the right wing of the royahsts, 
was opposed by Oliver Cromwell, who now first came into no- 
tice, at the head of a body of troops, whom he had taken care to 
levy and discipline. Cromwell was victorious ; he pushed his 
opponents off the field, followed the vanquished, returned to a 
second engagement and a second victory ; the prince's whole 
train of artillery was taken, and the royalists never after reco- 
vered the blow 

71. William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, was sent to the 
Tower in the beginning of this reign. He was now brought to 
his trial, condemned and executed. And it was a melancholy 
consideration, that in those times of trouble the best men were 
those on either side who chiefly suffered. 



.52 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 28 

72. The death of Laud was followed by a total alteration of 
the ceremonies of the church. The liturgy was, by a public act, 
abolished the day he died, as if he had been the only obstacle to 
its former removal. The church of England was in all respects 
brought to a conformity to the puritanical establishment ; while 
the citizens of London and the Scottish army gave public thanks 
for so happy an alteration. 

■J. 73. The well disputed battle, which decided the fate 

""^' of Charles, was fought at Naseby, a village in York- 
shire. The main body of the royal army was com- 
manded by lord Astley ; prince Rupert led the right wing, sir 
Marmaduke Longdate the left, and the king himself headed the 
body of reserve. On the opposite side, Fairfax and Skippon 
commanded the main body ; Cromwell led on the right wing, 
and Ireton, his son-in-law, the left. 

74. Prince Rupert attacked the left wing with his usual impe- 
tuosity and success ; they were broke and pursued as fdT as the 
village ; but he lost time in attempting to make himself master 
of their artillery. Cromwell, in the mean time, was equally suc- 
cessful on his side, and broke through the enemies' horse after a 
very obstinate resistance. While those were thus engaged, the 
infantry on both sides maintained the conflict with equal ardour 
but in spite of the etibrts of Fairfax and Skippon, their batallions 
began to give way. 

75. But it was now that Cromwell returned with his victori- 
ous forces, and charged the king's infantry in flank with such 
vigour, that a total rout began to ensue. By this time prince 
Rupert had rejoined the king and the small body of reserve ; 
but his troops, though victorious, could not be brought to a se- 
cond charge. The king perceiving the battle wholly lost, was 
obliged to a^ndon the field to his enemies, who took all his can- 
non, baggage, and above live thousand prisoners. 

76. The battle of Naseby put the parliamentarians in posses- 
sion of almost all the strong cities in the kingdom, Bristol, Bridge- 
water, Chester, Sherborne and Bath ; Exeter was besieged, and 
all the king's troops in the western counties being entirely dis- 
persed, Fairfax pressed the place, and it surrendered at discre- 
tion. The king thus surrounded, harrassed on every side, re- 
treated to Oxford, that in all conditions of his fortune had held 
steady to his cause ; and there he resolved to offer new terms 
to his incensed pursuers. 

77. In the mean time Fairfax was approaching with a power- 
ful and victorious army, and was taking the proper measures for 
laying siege to Oxford, which promised an easy surrender. To 
be taken captive, and led in triumph by his insolent subjects, 
was what Charles justly abhorred ; and every insolence and 



Cbfip 28. CHARLES I. 153 

violence was to be dreaded from the soldiery who had felt the 
effects of his opposition. 

78. In this desperate extremity he embraced a measure which 
in any other situation might justly lie under the imputation of 
imprudence and indiscretion. He took the fatal resolution of 
giving himself up to the Scottish army, who had never testified 
such implacable animosity against him ; and he too soon found, 
that, instead of treating him as a king they insulted him as a 
captive. 

79. The English parliament being informed of the king's cap- 
tivity, immediately entered into a treaty with the Scots about 
dehvering up their prisoner. This was soon adjusted. They 
agreed that upon payment of four hundred thousand pounds 
they would deliver up the king to his enemies, and this was cheer- 
fully complied with. An action so atrocious may be palliated, 
but can never be defended ; they returned home laden with 
plunder, and the reproaches of ail good men. 

80. The civil war was now over ; the king had absolved his 
followers from their allegiance, and the parliament had now no 
enemy to fear, except those very troops by which they had ex- 
tended their overgrown authority. But in proportion as the ter- 
ror of the king's power diminished, the divisions between the 
members which composed the parliament, became more ap- 
parent. 

81. The majority of the house were of the presbyterian sect 
who were for having clergy ; but the majority of the army were 
stanch independents, who admitted of no clergy, but thought 
that every man had a right to instruct his fellows. At the head 
of this sect was Cromwell, who secretly directed its operations, 
and invigorated all their measures. 

82. Oliver Cromwell, whose talents now began to appear in 
full lustre, was the son of a private gentleman in Huntingdon : 
but being the son of a second brother, he inherited a very small 
paternal fortune. From accident or intrigue he w^as chosen mem- 
ber for the town of Cambridge, in the long parhament ; but he 
seemed at first to possess no talents for oratory, his person being 
ungraceful, his dress slovenly, his elocution homel}^ tedious, ob- 
scure and embarrassed. 

83. He made up, however, b}^ zeal and perseverance what 
he wanted m natural powers ; and being endowed with unshak- 
en intrepedity, much dissimulation, and a thorough conviction of 
the rectitude of his cause, he rose, through the gradations of pre- 
ferment to the post of lieutenant general under Fairfax, b^t in 
reality possessing the supreme command over the whole army 

84. The army now began to consider themselves as a body 
distinct from the commonwealth ; and complained that they hap 

G ^ - 



164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 2S 

secured the general tranquilUty, while they were at the same time 
deprived of the privileges of Englishmen. In opposition there- 
fore to the parliament at Westminster, a military parliament waS 
formed, composed of the officers and common soldiers of each 
regiment. 

85. The principal officers formed a council to represent the 
body of peers ; the soldiers elected two men out of each com- 
pany to represent the house of commons, and these were called 
the agitators of the army. Cromwell took care to be one of the 
number, and thus contrived an easy method under hand of con- 
ducting and promoting the sedition of the army. 

86. The unhappy king in the mean time continued a prisoner 
at Holmby castle ; and as his countenance might add some autho- 
rity to that side which should obtain it, Cromwell, who secretly 
conducted all the measures of the army, while he apparently ex- 
claimed against their violence, resolved to seize the king's person. 

87. Accordingly, a party of live hundred horse appearing at 
Holmby castle, under the command of one Joyce, conducted the 
king to the army, who were hastening to their rendezvous at 
Triplo heath, near Cambridge. The next day Cromwell arriv- 
ed among them, where he was received with acclamations of joy 
and was instantly invested v»'ith the supreme command. 

88. The house of commons was now divided into parties a^ 
usual, one party opposing, but the minority, v/ith the two speak- 
ers at their head, flrr encouraging the army. In such an univer- 
sal confusion, it is not to be expected that any thing less than » 
separation of the parties could take place, and accordingly the 
two speakers, with sixty-tv/o members, secretly retired from the 
house, and threw themselves under the protection of the army 
that were at Hounslow heath. 

89. They were received with shouts and acclamations, their- 
integrity was extolled, and the whole body of the soldiery, a for- 
midable force of twenty thousand men, now moved forward to 
reinstate them in their former seats and stations. 

90. In the mean time, that part of the house that was left be- 
hind resolved to act with vigour, and resist the encroachments 
of the army. They chose new speakers, they gave orders for. 
enlisting troops, they ordered the trainbands to man the lineSj 
and the whole city boldly resolved to resist the invasion. 

9 1 . But this resolution only held while the enemy was thought 
at a distance ; for when the formidable force of Cromwell ap- 
peared, all was obedience and submission ; the gates were open-, 
ed to the general, who attended the two speakers, and the rest 
of the members, peaceably to their habitations. The eleven im- 
peached members being accused as the causes of the tumult^ 
were expelled, and most of them retired to the continent. 



Chap. 28. CHARLES I. 155 

92. The mayor, sheriff and three aldermen, were sent to the 
Tower ; several citizens and officers of militia were committtd 
to prison, and the lines about the city were levelled to the grounds 
The command of the Tower was given to Fairfax, the general ; 
and the parliament ordered him their hearty thanks for having 
disobeyed their commands. 

93. It now only remained to dispose of the king, who had been 
sent by the army prisoner to Hampton court ; from whence he 
attempted to escape, but was once more made prisoner in the Isle 
of Wight, and confined in Carrisbrook castle. 

94. While the king continued in this forlorn situation, the 
parliament, new modelled as it was by the army, was every day 
growing more feeble and factious. He still, therefore, continu- 
ed to negotiate with the parliament for settling the unspeakable 
calamities of the kingdom. The parhament saw no other me- 
thod of destroying the military power, but to depress it by the 
kingly. Frequent proposals for an accommodation passed be 
tween the captive king and the commons. 

S5. But it was now too late ; their power was soon totally to 
expire ; for the rebellious army, crowned with success, was re- 
turned from the destruction of their enemies, and sensible of 
iheir own power, with furious remonstrance began to demand 
vengeance on the king. At the same time the}'^ advanced to 
Windsor; and sending an officer to seize the king's person, 
where he was lately sent under confinement, they conveyed him 
to Plurst castle in Hampshire, opposite the Isle of Wight. 

96. The commons, however, though destitute of all hopes of 
prevailing, had still courage to resist, and attempted, in the face 
of the whole army, to close their treaty with the king. But the 
next day colonel Pride, at the head of two regiments, blockaded 
the house, and seized in the passage forty-one members of the 
presbyterian party, and sent them to a low room belonging to 
the house, that passed by the denomination of hell. 

97. Above a hundred and sixty members more were exclud- 
ed ; and none were allowed to enter but the most furious and de- 
termined of the independents, in all not exceeding sixty. This 
atrocious invasion of the parliamentary rights, commonly passed 
by the name of Pride's purge, and the remaining members were 
called the Rump. These soon voted, that the transactions of 
the house a few days before were entirely illegal, and that their 
general's conduct was just and necessary. 

98. A committee was appointed to bring in a charge against 
the king ; and a vote passed declaring it treason in a king to levy 
war against his parhament. A high court of justice was accord- 
ingly appointed to try his majesty for this new invented treason. 

.99 Colonel Harrison, the son of a butcher, was commanded 



J 56 HlSTORt or E^GtAKfT. Chap. ^^ 

to conduct the king from Hurst castle to Windsor, and from 
thence to London. His afflicted subjects, who ran to have a 
sight of their sovereign, were greatly affected at the change that 
appeared in his face and person. He had allowed his beard to 
grow ; his hair was become venerably grey, rather by the pres- 
sure of anxiety than the hand of time ; while his apparel bore 
the marks of misfortune and decay. 

100. Thus he stood a solitary figure of majesty in distress, 
which even his adversaries could not behold without reverence 
and compassion. He had been long attended only by an oldde- 
crepid servant, whose name was sir Philip Warwick, who could 
only deplore his master's fate, without being able to defend his 
cause. All the exterior symbols of sovereignty were now with- 
drawn ; and his new attendants had orders to serve him without 
ceremony. 

101. The duke of Hamilton, who was reserved for the same 
punishment with his master, having leave to take a last farewell 
as he departed from W^indsor, threw himself at the king's feet 
crying out, " My dear master !" The unhappy monarch raised 
him up, and embracing him tenderly, replied, while the tears 
ran down his cheeks, " I have indeed been a dear master to 
you." These were severe distresses ; however, he could not 
be persuaded that his adversaries w^ould bring him to a formal 
trial ; but he every moment expected to be despatched by pri- 
vate assassination. 

102. From the sixth to the twentieth of January, was spent 
in making preparations for this extraordinary trial. The court 
of justice consisted of a hundred and thirty-three persons named 
by the commons ; but of these never above seventy met upon 
the trial. The members were chiefly composed of the princi- 
pal officers of the army, most of them of very mean birth, toge- 
ther with some of the lower house, and a few citizens of London. 
Bradshaw, a lawyer, was chosen president ; Coke was appoint- 
ed sohcitor for the people of England ; Dorislaus, Steele and 
Aske, were named assistants. The court sat at Westminster 
hall. 

103. The king was now conducted from Windsor to St. James's, 
and the next day was brought before the high court to take hk 
trial. When he was brought forward, he was conducted by the 
mace bearer to a chair placed within the bar. Though long de- 
tained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, he still sus- 
tained the dignity of a king ; he surveyed the members of the 
court with a stern haughty air, and without removing his hat sat 
down, while the members also were covered. 

104. His charge was then read by the solicitor, accusing him 
U having been the cause of all the bloodshed that followed since 



Chap. 28. CHARLES I. 15^ 

the commencement of the war ; at that part of the charge he 
couW not suppress a smile of contempt and indignation. After 
the charge 'Aas finished, Bradshaw directed his discourse to the 
king, and told him, that the court expected his aof^wer. 

105. The king with great temper entered upon his defence, 
by declining the authority of the court. He represented that 

^ having been engc^ged in treaty with his two houses of parliament, 
and having tinished almost every article, he expected a different 
treatment from that he now received. 

106. He perceived, he said, no appearance of an upper house, 
which was necessary to constitute a just tribunal. That he was 
himself the king and fountain of law, and consequently could not 
be tried by laws to which he had never given his assent ; that 
having been entrusted with the liberties of the people, he would 
not now betray them, by recognizing a power founded in usur- 
pation ; that he was willing before a proper tribunal to enter 
into the particulars of his defence ; but that before them he must 
dechne any apology for his innocence, lest he should be consi- 
dered as the betrayer of, and not a martyr for the constitution. 

107. Bradshi\w, in order to support the authority of that 
court, insisted that they had received their power from the peo- 
ple, the source of all right. He pressed the prisojier not to de- 
cline the authority of the court, which was delegated by the com ■ 
mons of England, and interrupted and over-ruled the king in his 
attempts to reply. 

108. In this manner the king was three times produced before 
the court, and as often persisted in declining its jurisdiction. 
The fourth and last time he was brought before the self-created 
tribunal, as he was proceeding thither, he was insulted by the 
soldiers and the mob, who exclaimed, " Justice ! Justice I exe- 
cution ! execution!" but he continued undaunted. His judges 
having now examined some witnesses, by whom it was proved 
that the king had appeared in arms against the forces commis- 
sioned by parliament, they pronounced sentence against him. 

1 09. The conduct of the king, under all these instances of low 
bred malice, was great, firni and equal ; in going through the 
hall from this execrable tribunal, the soldiers and rabble were 
again instigated to cry out justice and execution. They reviled 
him with the most bitter reproaches. Among other insults, one 
miscreant presumed to spit in the face of his sovereign. 

110. He patiently bore their im^^lence. " Poor souls," cri- 
ed he, " They would treat their generals in the same manner 
for sixpence.'* Those of the populace who still retained the 
feelings of humanity, expressed their sorrow in sighs and tears. 
A soldier more compassionate than the rest, could not help im- 
ploring a blessing upon his royal head. An officer overhearing 



i58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 23 

nim, struck the honest centinel to the ground before the king, 
who could not help saying, that " the punishment exceeded the 
offence." 

111. At his return to Whitehall, he desired the permission ol 
the house to see his children, and to be attended in his private 
devotions by doctor Juxon, late bishop of London. These re 
quests were granted, and also three days to prepare for the ex- 
ecution of the sentence. All that remained of his family now in 
England, were the princess Elizabeth, and the duke of Glouces- 
ter, a child of about three years of age. 

112. After many seasonable and sensible exhortations to his 
daughter, he took his little son in his arms and embracing him, 
'^ My child," said he, " they will cut off thy father's head — yes, 
they will cut off my head ; and make thee a king. But mark what 
1 say ; thou must not be a king as long as thy brothers, Charles 
and James are alive. They will cut off their heads when they 
can take them, and thy head too they will cut off at last, and 
therefore I charge thee do not be made a king by them." The 
child bursting into tears replied, ^' I will be torn in pieces first." 

113. Every night during the interval between his sentence 
.and execution, the king slept sound as usual ; though the noise 

of the workmen, employed in framing the scaffold, continually re- 
sounded in his ears. The fatal morning being at last arrived, 
he rose early, and calling one of his attendants, he bade him em- 
ploy more than usual care in dressing him, and preparing him 
for so great and joyful a solemnity. 

114. The street before Whitehall was the place destined for 
his execution ; for it was intended that this would increase the 
severity of his punishment. He was led through the Banquet- 
ing house to the scaffold adjoining that edifice, attended by his 
friend and servant bishop Juxon, a man endowed with the same 
mild and steady virtues with his master, 

115. The scaffold, which was covered with black, was guard- 
ed by a regiment of soldiers, under the command of colonel Tom- 
lison, and on it were to be seen the block, and axe, and two ex- 
ecutioners in masks. The people in great crowds stood at a 
great distance, in dreadful expectation of the event. The king 
surveyed all these solemn preparations with calm composure : 
and as he could not expect to be heard by the people at a dis- 
'.iince, he addressed himself to the few persons who stood round 
mm. 

116. He there justified his own innocence in the late fatal war, 
and observed, that he had not taken arms till after the parliament 
had shown him the example. That he had no other object in 
nis warlike preparations than to preserve that authority entire, 
which had been transmitted to him by his ancestors j but though 



Chap. 28, CHARLES I. 159 

Unocent towards his people, he acknowledged the equity of his 
execution in the eyes of his Maker. 

117. He owned that he was justly punished for having con- 
sented to the execution of an unjust sentence upon the earl af 
Strafford. He forgave all his enemies, exhorted the people to 
return to their obedience, and acknowledge his son as his suc- 
cessor, and signified his attachment to the protestant religion, 
as professed in the church of England. So strong was the im- 
pression his dying words made upon the few who could hear 
him, that colonel Tomlison himself, into whose care he had been 
committed, acknowledged himself a convert. 

118. While he was thus preparing himself for the block, 
bishop Juxon called out to him, " There is, sir, but one stage 
more, which, though turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very 
short one. It will soon carry you a great way. It will soon carry 
you from earth to heaven, and there you shall find, to j'^our great 
ioy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown of glory." 

119. "I go," replied the king, '' from a corruptible to an in- 
corruptible crown, where no disturbance can have place." " You 
exchange," repHed the bishop, '^ a temporal for an eternal crown, 
a good exchange." Charles having taken off his cloak he deli- 
vered his george to the prelate, pronouncing the word ** Re- 
member." 

120. Then he laid his head upon the block, and stretching 
out his hands as a signal, one of the executioners severed his 
head from his body at a blow, while the other holding it up ex- 
claimed, " This is the head of a traitor." The spectators testi- 
fied their horror at that sad spectacle in sighs, tears and lament- 
ations ; the tide of their duty and affection began to return, and 
each blamed himself either with active disloyalty to his king, or 
a passive compliance with his destroyers. 

121. Charles was executed in the forty -ninth year y „^ 
of his age, and the twenty-fourth of his reign. He was f^^q*^ ' 
of a middhng stature, robust and well proportioned. 

His visage was pleasing, but melancholy ; and it is probable tfiat 
the continual troubles in which he was involved, might have made 
that impression on his countenance. As for his character, the 
reader will deduce it with more precision and satisfaction to him- 
self from the detail of his conduct, than from any summary given 
pf it by the historian. 



IGO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 29 

CHAPTER XXIX.— The Commonwealth. 

. j^ 1. Cromwell, who had secretly solicited and contriv 
TfidQ ' ^^ ^^^ king's death, now began to feel wishes to which 
he had been hitherto a stranger. His prospects widen- 
ing as he rose, his first principles of liberty were all lost in the 
unbounded stretch of power that lay before him. 

2. Having been appointed to command the army in Ireland, 
he prosecuted the war in that kingdom with his usual success. 
He had to combat against the royalists, commanded by the duke 
of Ormond, and the native Irish, led on by O'Neal. But such 
ill connected and barbarous troops could give very little opposi- 
tion to Cromwell's more numerous forces, conducted by such a 
general, and emboldened by long success. 

3. He soon overran the whole country ; and after sonie time, 
all the towns revolted in his favour, and opened their gates at his 
approach. But in these conquests, as in all the rest of his ac- 
tions, there appeared a brutal ferocity that would tarnish the 
most heroic valour. In order to intimidate the natives from de- 
fending their towns, he with a barbarous policy put every garri- 
son that made any resistance to the sword. 

4. After his return to England, upon taking his seat, he re- 
ceived the thanks of the house, by the mouth of the speaker, for 
the services he had done the commonwealth in Ireland. They 
then proceeded to deliberate upon choosing a general for con- 
ducting the war in Scotland, where they had espoused the royal 
cause, and placed young Charles, the son of their late monarch, on 
the throne. Fairfax refusing this command upon principle, as 
he had all along declined opposing the presbyterians, the com- 
mand necessarily devolved upon Cromwell, who boldly set for- 
ward for Scotland, at the head of an army of sixteen thousand 
men. 

k T) 5. The Scots in the mean time, who had invited over 
\n^f)' their wretched king, to be a prisoner, not a ruler among 
them, prepared to meet the invasion. A battle ensued, in 
which they, though double the number of the English, were soon 
put to flight, and pursued with great slaughter, while Cromwell 
did not lose above forty men in all. 

6. In this terrible exigence, young Charles embraced a reso- 
lution worthy a prince, who was wiUing to hazard all for empire. 
Observing that the way was open to England, he resolved imme- 
diately to march into that country, where he expected to be re- 
inforced by all the royalists in that part of the kingdom. 

7. But he soon found himself disappointed in the expectation 
of increasing his army. The Scots, terrified at the prospect o* 
sc hazardous an enterprise, fell from him in great numbers. The 



Chap. 29. THE COMMONWEALTH. 161 

English, affrighted at the name of his opponent, dreaded to join 
him ; but his mortifications were still more increased as he ar- 
rived at Worcester, when informed that Cromwell was marching 
with hasty strides from Scotland, with an army increased to forty 
thousand men. 

8. The news scarce arrived, when that active general himself 
appeared, and falling upon the town on all sides, broke in upon 
the disordered royalists. The streets were strewed with slaugh- 
ter ; the whole Scots army was either killed or taken prisoners, 
and the king himself, having given many proofs of personal valour, 
was obhged to fly. 

9. Imagination can scarce conceive adventures more romantic, 
or distresses more severe, than those which attended the young 
king's escape from the scene of slaughter. After various es- 
capes, and one-and-forty da3^s concealment, he landed safely at 
Feschamp in Normandy ; no less than forty men and women 
having at different times been privy to his escape. 

10. In the mean time, Cromwell, crowned with success, re- 
turned in triumph to London, where he was met by the speaker 
of the house, accompanied by the mayor of London and the magis- 
trates, in all their formalities. His first care was to take advan- 
tage of his late success, by depressing the Scots, who had so 
lately withstood the works of the gospel, as he called it. An act 
was passed for abolishing royalty in Scotland, and annexing that 
kingdom, as a conquered province, to the English commonwealth. 

11. It was empowered, however, to send some members to 
the English parliament ; judges were appointed to distribute jus 
tice, and the people of that country, now freed from the tyranny 
of the ecclesiastics, were not much dissatisfied with their present 
government. The prudent conduct of Monk, who was left by 
Cromwell to complete their subjection, served much to recon- 
cile the minds of the people, harassed with dissensions, of which 
they never well understood the cause. 

12. In this manner the English parliament, by the means of 
Cromwell, spread their uncontested authority over all the Bri- 
tish dominions. Ireland was totally subdued by Ireton and Lud- 
low. All the settlements in America, that had declared for the 
royal cause, were obliged to submit ; Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, 
and the Isle of Man, were brought easily under subjection. Thus 
mankind saw with astonishment, a parliament composed of sixty 
or seventy obscure and illiterate members, governing a great 
empire with unanimity and success. 

13. Without any acknowledged subordination, except a coun- 
cil of state, consisting of thirty-eight, to whom all addresses were 
made, they levied armies, maintained fleets, and gave laws to the 
neighbouring powers of Europe. The finances were managed 



162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 29 

with economy and exactness, few private persons became 
rich by the plander of the pubUc ; the revenues of the crown, 
the lands of the bishops, and a tax of a hundred and twenty thou- 
sand pounds each month, suppHed the wants of the government 
and gave vigour to all their proceedings. 

14. The parliament having thus reduced their native domi 
nions to perfect obedience, next resolved to chastise the Dutch, 
who had given but very slight causes of complaint. It happen- 
ed that one doctor Dorislaus, who was of the number of the late 
king's judges, being sent by the parliament as their envoy to Hol- 
land, was assassinated by one of the royal party, who had taken 
refuge there. 

15. Some time after, also, Mr. St. John, appointed their am- 
bassador to that court, was insulted by the friends of the prince 
of Orange. These were thought motives sufficient to induce the 
commonwealth of England to declare war against them. The 
parliament's chief dependence lay in the activity and courage of 
Blake, their admiral, who, though he had not embarked in naval 
command till late in life, yet surpassed all that went before him 
in courage and dexterity. 

16. On the other side, the Dutch opposed to him their famous 
admiral Van Tromp, to whom they never since produced an 
equal. Many were the engagements between these celebrated 
admirals, and various was the success. Sea fights in general, sel 
dom prove decisive ; and the vanquished are soon seen to make 
head against the victors. Several dreadful encounters, therefore, 
rather served to show the excellence of the admirals than to de- 
termine their superiority. 

17. The Dutch, however, who felt many great disadvantages 
by the loss of their trade, and by the total suspension of their 
fisheries, were willing to treat for a peace ; but the parliament 
gave them a very unfavourable answer. It was the policy of 
that body to keep their navy on foot as long as they could 
rightly judging, that while tneVorce of the nation was exerted by 

ea, it would diminish the power of general Cromwell by land, 
which was now become very formidable to them. 

18. This great aspirer, however, quickly perceived their de- 
signs ; and from the first saw that they dreaded his growing 
power, and wished its diminution. All his measures were con- 
ducted with a bold intrepidity that marked his character ; and 
he now saw that it was not necessary to wear the mask of subor 
dination any longer. 

19. Secure, therefore, in the attachment of the army, he re- 
solved to make another daring effort, and persuaded the officers 

o present a petition for payment of arrears and redress of griev- 
«©ces, which he knew would be rejected by {he commons with \ 



Chap. 29. THE COMMONWEALTH. 1G5 

disdain. The petition was soon drawn up and presented, in which 
the officers, after demanding their arrears, desired the parHament 
to consider how many years they had sat, and what pro- . j^ 
fessions they had formerly made, of their intentions to ij-ro' 
new model the house, and to establish freedom on the 
broadest basis. 

20. The house was "highly offended at the presumption of the 
army, although they had seen, but too lately, th;it their own 
power was wholly founded on that very presumption. They 
appointed a committee to prepare an act, ordaining that all per- 
sons who presented such petitions for the future, should be 
deemed guilty of high treason. To this the oflicers made a very 
warm remonstrance, and the parliament as angid^ a reply ; while 
the breach between them every moment grew wider. 

21. This was what Cromwell had long wished, and had long 
foreseen. He was sitting in council with his officers, when in- 
formed of the subject on which the house was deliberating; 
upon which he rose up in the greatest seeming fury, and turning 
to major Vernon, cried out, " That he was compelled to do a 
thing that made the ver}' hair of his head stand on end." 

22. Then hastening to the house with three hundred soldiers, 
and with the marks of violent indignation on his countenance he 
entered. Stamping with his foot, which was the signal for the 
soldiers to enter, the place was immediately filled with armed 
men. Then addressing himself to the members ; "For shame," 
said he, "get you gore. Give place to honester men ; to those 
who will more faithfully discharge their trust." 

23. " You are no longer a parliament ; I tell you, you are no 
longer a parHament, the Lord has done with you." Sir Harry 
Vane exclaiming against this conduct ; "Sir Harry," cried Crom- 
well with a loud voice, "O sir Harry Vane, the Lord deliver 
me from sir Harry Vane." Taking hold of Martin by the cloak ; 
"tkou art a whoremaster," to another, "thou art an adulterer," 
to a third, "thou art a drunkard," and to a fourth, "thou art a 
glutton." 

24. " It is you," continued he, to the members, "that have 
forced me upon this. I have sought the Lord day and night, that 
lie would rather slay me than put me upon this work." Then 
pointing to the mace, "Take away," cried he, "that bauble." 
After which turning out all the members, and clearing the hall, 
he ordered the doors to be locked, and putting the key in his 
pocket, returned to Whitehall. 

25. The persons he pitched upon for his next parliament 
were the lowest, meanest and most ignorant among the citizens, 
and the very dregs of the fanatics. He was well apprized that 
(luring the administration of such a group of characters he alone 



164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 20. 

must govern, or that they must soon throw up the reins of go- 
vernment, which they were unqualified to guide. Accordingly, 
their practice justified his safgacity. One of them particularly, 
who was called Praise God Barebone, a canting leather seller, 
gave his name to this odd assembly, and it was called Barebone's 
parliament. 

26. The very vulgar now began to exclaim against so foohsh 
a legislature ; and they themselves seemed not insensible of the 
ridicule which was every day thrown out against them. Ac- 
cordingly, by concert, they met earlier than the rest of their 
fraternity : and observing to each other, that this parliament had 
sat long enough, they hastened to Cromwell, with Rouse, their 
speaker, at their head, and into his hands they resigned the autho- 
rity with which he had invested them. 

27. Cromwell accepted their resignation, with pleasure, but 
being told that some of the number were refractory, he sent 
colonel White to clear the house of such as ventured to remain 
there. They had placed one Moyer in the chair by the time 
that the colonel had arrived ; and he being asked by the colonel, 
" What they did there ?" Moyer replied, very gravely, " that 
they were seeking the Lord." '^ Then you may go elsewhere," 
cried White, '' for to my certain knowledge the Lord has not 
been here these many years." 

28. This shadow of a parliament being dissolved, the officers, 
by their own authority, declared Cromwell protector of the com- 
monwealth of England. He was to be addressed by the title of 
highness ; and his power was proclaimed in London, and other 
parts of the kingdom. Thus an obscure and vulgar man, at the 
age of fifty-three, rose to unbounded power, first by following 
small events in his favour, and at length bji^ directing great ones, 

29. Cromwell chose his council among his officers, who had 
been the comptmions of his dangers and his victories, to each of 
whom he assigaed a pension of one thousand pounds a year. He 
took care to have his troops, upon whose fidelity he depended 
for support, paid a month in advance ; the magazines were also 
well provided, and the public treasure managed with frugality 
and care : while his activity, vigilance, and resolution were 
such, that he discovered every conspiracy against his person, 
and every plot for an insurrection, before they took effect. 

30. His management of foreign affairs, though his schemes 
were by no means political, yet well corresponded with his cha- 
racter, and for a while were attended with success. The Dutch 
having been humbled by repeated defeats, and totally abridged 
in their commercial concerns, were obliged at lac-t to sue for 
peace, which he gave them upon terms rather too favourable. 

31. He insisted upon their paying deference to the British flag 



Chap. 29. 'THE COMMONWEALTH. 1G5 

He compelled them to nbantlon the interests of the king, and to 
pay eighty-five thousand pounds as an indemnification for former 
expences, and to restore to the Enghsh East India Company a 
part of those dominions, of which they had been dispossessed hy 
the Dutch, during the former reign, in that distant .part of the 
world. 

32. He was not less successful in his negotiations with the 
court of France. Cardinal Mazarine, by whom the aifairs of 
that kingdom were conducted, deemed it necessary to pay de- 
ference to the protector ; and desirous rather to prevail by dex- 
terity than violence, submitted to Cromwell's imperious charac- 
ter, and thus procured ends equally beneficial to both. 

33. The court of Spain was not less assiduous in its endeavours 
to gain his friendship, but was not so successful. This vast mo- 
narchy, which but a few years before had threatened the liberties 
of Europe, was now reduced so low as to be scarce able to de- 
fend itself. Cromwell, however, who knew nothing of foreign 
politics, still continued to regard its power with an eye of jealousy, 
and came into an association with France to depress it still more. 

34. He lent that court a body of six thousand men to attack 
the Spanish dominions in the Netherlands, and upon obtaining a 
signal victory by his assistance at Dunes, the French put Dun- 
kirk, which they had just taken from the Spaniards, into his hands, 
as a reward for his attachment. 

35. But it was by sea that he humbled the power of Spain 
with still more effectual success. Blake, who had long made 
himself formidable to the Dutch, and whose fame was spread 
over Europe, now became stili more dreadful to the Spanish 
monarchy. He sailed with a fleet into the Mediterranean, 
whither, since the time of the crusades, no Enghsh fleet had 
ever ventured to advance. He there conquered all that ventured 
to oppose him. Casting anchor before Leghorn, he demanded 
and obtained satisfaction for some injuries which the English 
commerce had suffered from tne duke of Tuscany. 

36. He next sailed to Algiers, and compelled the dey ^ j. 
to make peace, and to restrain his piratical subjects from jg- r' 
farther injuring the English. He then went to Tunis, 

and having made the same demands, he was desired by the dey 
of that place, to look at the two castles, Porto Farina, and Go- 
letta, and do his utmost. Blake showed him that he was not slow 
in accepting his challenge ; he entered the harbor, burned the 
shipping there, and then sailed out triumphantly to pursue his 
voyage. 

37. At Cadiz, he took two galleons valued at nearly two mil- 
lion pieces of eight. At the Canaries, he burned a Spanish fleet 
«f sixteen ships, and returning home t England to enjoy the fame 



166 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 29 

of his noble actions, as he came within sight of his native country, 
he expired. This gallant man, though he fought for an usurper, 
yet was averse to his cause ; he was a zealous republican in prin- 
ciple, and his aim was to serve his country, not to establish a ty- 
rant. '< It is still our duty," he would say to his seamen, *' to fight 
for our country, into whatever hands the government may fall." 

38. At the same time that Blake's expeditions, were going for- 
ward, there was another carried on under the command of admi- 
rals Pen and Venables, with about four thousand land forces, to 
attack the island of Hispaniola. Failing however in this, and 
being driven off the place by the Spaniards, they steered to Ja- 
maica, which was surrendered to them without a blow. So little 
was thought of the importance of this conquest, that upon the re- 
turn of the expedition, Pen and Venables were sent to the Tower 
for their failure of the principal object of their expedition. 

39. But it must not be supposed, that Cromweil's situation 
was at this time enviable. Perhaps no station, however mean 
or loaded with contempt, could be more truly distressful than his, 
at a time the nation was loading him with congratulations and 
addressee 

4 j^ 40. He had by this time rendered himself hateful to 
J * o * every party, and he owed his safety to thetr mutual ha- 
tred and diffidence of each other. His arts of dissimula 
tion had been long exhausted, none now could be deceived by 
them, those of his own party and principles disdaining the use 
to which he had converted his zeal and professions. The truth 
seems to be, if we may use a phrase taken from common life, he 
had begun with being a dupe to his own enthusiasm, and ended 
with being a sharper. 

41. The whole nation silently detested his administration, but 
he had not still been reduced to the extreme of wretchedness it 
he could have found domestic consolation. Fleetwood, his son- 
in-law, actuated with the wildest zeal, detested the character 
which could use religious professions for the purposes of tem- 
poral advancement. His eldest daughter, married to Fleetwood, 
had adopted republican principles so vehemently, that she could 
not behold, even her own ftither entrusted with uncontrollable 
power. His other daughters were no less sanguine in favour 
of the royal cause ; but above all, Mrs. Claypole, his favourite 
daughter, who upon her deathbed upbraided him with all those 
crimes that led him to trample on the throne. 

42. Everv hour added new disquietude. Lord Fairfax, sit 
William Waller, and many of the heads of the presbyteriang, 
had secretly entered into an engagement to destroy him. His 
administration, so expensive both at home and abroad, had ex- 
hausted his revenue, and he was left considerably in debtj one 



- i .. COMMONWEALTH. 16 

conspiracy was no sooner detected, but another rose from its 
ruins ; and to increase his calamity, he was now tauglit upon 
reasoning principles, that his death was not only desirable, but 
his assassination would be meritorious. 

43. A book was published by colonel Titus, a man who had 
been formerly attached to his cause, entitled, Killing no Murder. 
Of all the pamphlets that came forth at that time, or perhaps of 
those that have since appeared, this was the most eloquent and 
masterly. " Shall we," said this popular declaimer, " who 
would not suffer the Hon to invade us, tamely stand to be de- 
voured by the wolf?" Cromwell read this spirited treatise, and 
was never seen to smile more. 

44. All peace was now for ever banished from his mind. He 
now found, that the grandeur to which he had sacrificed his for- 
mer peace, was only an inlet to fresh inquietudes. The fear of 
assassination haunted him in all his Avalks, and was perpetually 
present to his imagination. He wore armour under his clothes, 
and always kept pistols in his pockets. His aspect was clouded 
by a settled gloom ; and he regarded every stranger with the 
glance of timid suspicion. 

45. He always travelled with hurry, and was ever attended 
with a numerous guard. He never returned from any place bv 
the road he went ; and seldom slept above three nights together 
in the same chamber. Society terrified him, as there he might 
meet an enemy ; solitude was terrible, as he was there unguard 
ed by every friend. 

46. A tertian ague kindly came at last to deliver him from 
fliis life of horror and anxiety. For the space of a week no dan- 
gerous symptoms appeared ; and in the intervals of the fits he 
was able to walk abroad. At length the fever mcreased and he 
became delirious. He was just able to answer yes, to the de- 
mand, whether his son Richard should be appointed to succeed 
him. He died on the third day of September, the very . ^ 
day which he had always considered as the most fortunate '/pro' 
of his life ; he was then fifty-nine years old, and had "^ ' 
usurped the government nine years. 

47. Whatever might have been the differences of interest af- 
ter the death of the usurper, the influence of his name was still 
sufficient to get Richard, his son, proclaimed protector in his 
room. But the army, discontented with such a leader, esta- 
blished a meeting at general Fleetwood's, which, as he dwelt in 
Wallingford house, was called the Cabal of Wallingford. The 
result of their deliberations was a remonstrance that the com- 
mand of the army should be entrusted to some person in whom 
they might all confide ; and it was plainly given to understand 
that the young protector was not that person. 



Ge> HISTORY OF ENGLAND, Chap. 29 

48. Richard wanted resolution to defend the title that had 
been conferred upon him ; he soon signed his own abdication in 
form, and retired to live several years after his resignation, at 
first on the continent, and afterwards upon his paternal fortune 
at home. He was thought by the ignorant to be unworthy of 
the happiness of his exaltation ; but he knew by his tranquillity 
in private that he had made the most fortunate escape. 

49. The officers once more left to themselves, determined to 
replace the remnant of the old parliament which had beheaded 
the king, and which Cromwell had so disgracefully turned out of 
the house. 

50. The Rump parliament, for that was the name it went by, 
being now reinstated, was yet very vigorous in its attempts to 
lessen the power by which it was replaced. The officers of the 
army, therefore, came to a resolution, usual enough in these 
times, to dissolve that assembly, by which they were so vehe- 
mently opposed. 

51. Accordingly, Lambert, one of the generals, drew up a 
chosen body of troops ; and placing them in the streets which 
led to Westminster hall, when the speaker, Lenthal, proceeded 
in his carriage to the house, he ordered the horses to be turned 
and very civilly conducted him home. The other members were 
likewise intercepted, and the army returned to their quarters to 
observe a solemn fast, which generally either preceded or attend- 
ed their outrages 

52. During these transactions, general Monk was at the heaa 
/)f eight thousand veterans in Scotland, and beheld the distrac- 
tion of his native country with but slender hopes of relieving it 

53. Whatever might have been his designs, it was impossible 
to cover them with greater secrecy than he did. As ssoon as he 
put his army in motion, to inquire into the causes of the disturb- 
ances in the capital, his countenance was eargerly sought by all 
the contending parties. He still however continued to march 
his army towards the capital ; all the world equally in doubt as te 
his motives, and astonished at his reserve. But Monk continued 
his inflexible taciturnity, and at last came to St. Alban's within a 
few miles of London. 

54. He there sent the Rump parliament, who had resumed 
their seats, a nif^ssage, desirii;g them to remove such forces as 
remained in London to country quarters. In the mean time the 
house of commons, having passed votes for the composure of the 
kingdom, dissolved themselves, and gave orders for the immediate 
assemblage of a now parliament. 

55. As yet the new parHament was not assembled, and a y. 
no person had hitherto dived into the design of the .^-(Z 
general. He still persevered in his reserve ; and, although 



Chap. 29 THE COxMMONWEALTH. 169 

the calling a new parliament was but in other words to restore 
the king, yet his expressions never once betrayed the secret of 
his bosom. Nothing but a security of confidence at last extorted 
the confession from him. 

66. He had been intimate with one Morrice, a gentleman of 
Devonshire, of a sedentary, studious disposition, and with him 
alone did he deliberate upon the great and dangerous enterprise 
of the restoration. Sir John Granville, who had a commission 
from the king, applied for access to the general ; he was desired 
to communicate his business to Morrice. 

67. Granville refused, though twice urged, to deliver his mes- 
sage to any but the general himself; so tliat Monk now finding 
he could depend upon this minister's secrecy, he opened to him 
his whole intentions ; but with his usual caution still scrupled to 
commit any thing to paper. 

58. In consequence of these the king left the Spanish territo- 
ries, where he very narrov.ly escap<?d being detained at Breda 
by the governor, under pretence of treating him with propei 
respect and formality. From thence he retired into Holland^ 
where he resolved to wait for further advice. 

59. At length the long expected day for the sitting of a fr€(f 
parliament arrived. The affections of all were turned towards 
the king : yet such were their fears, and such dangers attended 
a freedom of speech, that no one dared for some days to make 
any mention of his name. 

60. All this time Monk, with his usual reserve, tried their 
tempers, and examined the ardour of their wishes ; at length he 
gave directions to Annesley, president of the council, to inform 
them that one sir John Granville, a servant of the king, had been 
sent over by his majesty, and was now at the door with a letter 
to the commons. 

61. Nothing could exceed the joy and transport with which 
this message was received. The members for a moment forgot 
the dignity of their situations, and indulged in a loud exclamation 
of applause. Granville was called in, and the letter eagerly 
read. A moment's pause was scarcely allowed ; all at once the 
house burst out into an universal assent at the king's proposals ; 
and to diffuse the joy more widely, it was voted that the letter 
and indemnity should immediately be published. 

62. Charles the II. entered London on the twenty-ninth of 
May, which was his birth day. An innumerable concourse of 
people lined j:he way wherever he passed, and rent the air with 
their acclamations. They had been so long distracted by unre- 
lenting factions, oppressed and alarmed by a succession of tyran- 
nies, that they could no longer suppress these emotions of delight 
to behold their constitution restored ; or rather, like a phceniic 

H 



170 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30, 

appearing more beautiful and vigorous from the ruins of its for- 
mer conflagration. 

63. Fanaticism with its long train of gloomy terrors fled at 
the approach of freedom ; the arts of society and peace began 
to return ; and it had been happy for the people if the arts of 
luxury had not entered in their train. 



CHAPTER XXX.— Charles II. 

1. When Charles came to the throne, he was thirty years of 
age, possessed of an agreeable person, an elegant address, and 
engaging manner. His whole demeanour and behaviour was well 
calculated to support and increase popularity. Accustomed du- 
ring his exile to live cheerfully among his courtiers, he carried 
the same endearing familiarities to the throne ; and from the le- 
vity of his temper, no injuries were dreaded from his former re- 
sentments. But it was soon found that these advantages were 
merely superficial. 

2. His indolence and love of pleasure made him averse to all 
kinds of business ; his familiarities were prostituted to the worst 
as well as the best of his subjects ; and he took no care to re- 
ward his former friends, as he had taken few steps to be avenged 
of his former enemies. 

3 Though an act of indemnity was passed, those vvho had an 
immediate hand in the king's death were excepted. Cromwell, 
Ireton and Bradshaw, though dead, were considered as proper 
objects of resentment ; their bodies were dug from their graves, 
dragged to the place of execution, and after hanging some time, 
were buried under the gallows. 

4. Of the rest, who sat in judgment on the late monarch's trial, 
some were dead and some were thought worthy of pardon. Ten 
only out of fourscore were devoted to immediate destruction. 
These were enthusiasts, who had all along acted from principle, | 
and who in the general spirit of rage excited against them, show- 
ed a fortitude that might do honour to a better cause. 

5. This was the time for the king to have made himself inde- 
pendent of all parliaments ; and it is said that Southampton, one 
of his ministers, had thoughts of procuring his master from the 
commons, the grant of a revenue of two millions a year, which 
would effectually have rendered him absolute ; but in this his 
views were obstructed by the great Clarendon, who though at- 
tached to the king, was still more the friend of liberty and laws. 
Charles, however, was no way interested in these opposite views 
of his ministers ; he only desired money in order to prosecute 



Chap. 30. CHARLES II. 171 

his pleasures ; and provided he had that, he little regarded the 
manner in which it was obtained. 

6. His continual exigences drove him constantly to measures 
no way suited to his inclination. Among others, was his mar- 
riage, celebrated at this time with Catharine, the Infanta of Por- 
tugal, who though a virtuous princess, possessed as it should 
seem but few personal attractions. It was the portion of this 
princess, that the needy monarch was enamoured of, which 
amounted to three hundred thousand pounds, together with the 
fortress of Tangier in Africa, and of Bombay in the East Indies. 
The chancellor Clarendon, the dukes of Ormond and South- 
ampton, urged many reasons against this match, particularly the 
likelihood of her never having any children ; the king disregard- 
ed their advice, and the inauspicious marriage was celebrated 
accordingly. 

7. It was probably with a view of recruiting the supply for 
his pleasures, that he was induced to declare war against the 
Dutch, as the money appointed for that purpose would go through 
his hands. In this naval war which continued to rage for some 
years with great fierceness, much blood was spilt, and great trea- 
sures exhausted, until at last a treaty was concluded at Breda, 
by which the Dutch ceded the colony of New- York to the Eng- 
lish, and it continued in their possession till the late revolution 
in America. 

8. This treaty was considered as inglorious to the English, as 
they failed in gaining any redress upon the complaints which 
gave rise to it. Lord Clarendon, particularly, gained a share of 
blame, both for having first advised an unnecessary war, and 
then for concluding a disgraceful peace. He had been long de- 
clining in the king's favour, and he was no less displeasing to the 
majority of the people. 

9. This seemed the signal for the earl's enemies to step in, 
and effect his entire overthrow. A charge was opened against 
him in the house of commons by Mr. Seymour, consisting of 
seventeen articles. These, which were only a catalogue of the 
popular rumours, before mentioned, appeared at first sight false 
or frivolous. However, Clarendon finding the popular torrent 
united to the violence of power, running with impetuosity against 
iiim, thought proper to withdraw to France. 

10. Having thus got ride of this virtuous minister, the king 
50on after resigned himself to the direction of a set of men who 
nfterwards went by the appellation of the Cabal, from the initials 
9f the names of which it was composed. The first of them, sir 
Thomjis Chfford, was a man of a daring and impetuous spirit, 
and rendered more dangerous by eloquence and intrigue 

3 1 . Lord Ashley, soon after known by the name of lord Shafts 



172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30 

bury, was turbulent, ambitious, subtle, and enterprising. The 
duke of Buckingham was gay and capricious, of some wit, and 
great vivacity. Arlington was a man but of a very moderate ca- 
pacity ; his intentions were good, but he wanted courage to per- 
severe in them. Lastly, the dukeof Lauderdale, who was not de- 
fective in natural, and still less in acquired talents ; but neither 
was his address graceful, nor his understanding just ; he was 
ambitious, obstinate, insolent, and sullen. These were the men 
. j^ to whom Charles gave up the conduct of his affairs and 
* * who plunged the remaining part of his reign in difficulties, 
which produced the most dangerous symptoms. 

12. From this inauspicious combination, the people had enter- 
tained violent jealousies against the court. The fears and dis- 
contents of the nation were vented without restraint ; and the 
apprehensions of a popish successor, and an abandoned court 
and a parliament which, though sometimes asserters of liberty, 
yet which had now continued for seventeen years without change, 
naturally rendered the minds of mankind timid and suspicious, 
and they only wanted objects on which to wreck their ill humour. 

13. When the spirit of the English is once roused, they either 
find objects of suspicion or make them. On the twelfth of August, 
one Kirby, a chymist, accosted the king as he was walking in the 
park, " Sir," said he, "keep within the company, your ene- 
mies have a design upon your life, and you may be shot in this 
very walk." Being questioned in consequence of this strange 
intimation, he offered to produce one doctor Tongue, a weak; 
credulous clergyman, who had told him, that two persons named i 
Orove and Pickering, were engaged to murder the king ; andl 
that sir George Wakeman, the queen's physician, had under- 
taken the same task by poison. 

14. Tongue was introduced to the king with a bundle of pa- 
pers relating to this pretended conspiracy, and was referred to 
the lord treasurer Danby. He there declared that the papers 
were thrust under his door ; and he afterwards declared that his 
knew the author of them, who desired that his name might hi 
concealed, as he dreaded the resentment of the Jesuits. 

15. This information appeared so vague and unsatisfactory! 
that the king concluded the whole was a fiction. Howevei 
Tongue was not be repressed in the ardour of his loyalty ; he 
went again to the lord treasurer, and told him that a packet oi 
letters, written by Jesuits, concerned in the plot, was that night 
to be put into the post house for Windsor, directed to one Bed- 
ingfield, a Jesuit, who was confessor to the duke of York, and 
who resided there. Those letters had actually been received 
a few hours before by the duke, but he had shown them to the 
king iis a forgery, of which he neither knew the drift nor meaning- 



Chap. 30. CHARLES II. .73 

61. Titus Gates, who was the fountain of all this dreadful in- 
telligence, was produced soon after, who with seeming reluc- 
tance came to give his evidence. This Titus Gates was an 
abandoned miscreant, obscure, illiterate, vulgar and indigent. 
He had been once indicted for perjury, was afterwards chaplain 
onboard of a man of war, and dismissed for unnatural practices. 
He then professed himself a Roman catholic, and crossed the sea 
to St. Gmer's, where he was for some time maintained in the 
English seminary of that city. At a time when he was supposed 
to have been entrusted with a secret involving the fate of king's, 
he was allowed to remain in such necessity, that Kirby was oblig- 
ed to supply him with daily bread. 

17. He had two methods to proceed, either to ingratiate him- 
self by his information, with the ministry, or to alarm the peo- 
ple, and thus turn their fears to his advantage. He chose the 
latter method. He went, therefore, with his two companions to 
sir Edmundsbury Godfrey, a noted and active justice of peace, 
and before him deposed to a narrative dressed up in terrors fit 
to make an impression on the vulgar. The pope, he said, con- 
sidered himself as entitled to the possession of England and Ire- 
land, on account of the heresy of the prince and people, and had 
accordingly assumed the sovereignty of these kingdoms. 

18. The king, whom the Jesuits called the Black Bastard, was 
solemnly tried by them, and condemned as a neretic. Grove 
and Pickering, to make sure work, were employed to shoot the 
king, and that too with silver bullets. The duke of York was to 
be offered the crown in consequence of the success of these 
probable schemes, on condition of extirpating the protestant 
religion. Upon his refusal, " To pot James must go," as the 
Jesuits were said to express it. 

19. In consequence of this dreadful information, sufficiently 
marked with absurdity, vulgarity and contradiction, Titus Gates 
became the favourite of the people, notv/ithstanding during his 
examination before the council, he so betrayed the grossness of 
his impostures, that he contradicted himself in every step of his 
narration. 

20. A great number of the Jesuits mentioned by Gates, were 
immediately taken into custody. Coleman, secretary to the duke 
of York, who was said to have acted so strenuous a part in the 
conspiracy, at first retired ; but next day surrendered himself to 
the secretary of state, and some of his papers, by Gates' direc- 
tions were secured. 

21. In this fluctuation of passions, an accident served to con- 
firm the prejudices of the people, and to put it beyond a doubt 
that Gates' narrative was nothing but the truth. Sir Edmunds- 
bury Godfrey, who had been so active in unravelling the whole 



174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30. 

mystery of the popish machinations, after having been missing 
some days, was found dead in a ditch near Primrose hill in the 
way to Hampstead. The cause of his death remains, and must 
still contmue a secret ; but the people, already enraged against 
the papists, did not hesitate a moment to ascribe it to them. The 
body of Godfrey was carried through the streets in procession, 
preceded by seventy clergymen ; and every one who saw it 
made no doubt that his death could be only caused by the papists. 
Even the better sort of people were infected with this vulgar 
prejudice ; and such was the general conviction of popish guilt, 
that no person with any regard to personal safety, could express 
the least doubt concerning the information of Oates, or murder 
of Godfrey. 

22. In order to continue and propagate the alarm, the parlia- 
ment affected to believe it true. An address was voted for a so- 
lemn fast. It was requested that all papers tending to throw 
liglit upon so horrible a conspiracy might be laid before the 
house, that all papists should remove from London, that access 
should be denied at court to all unknown and suspicious persona, 
and that the train bands in London and Westminster should be 
in readiness to march. Outes was recommended by parliament 
to the king. He was lodged in Whitehall, and encouraged by a 
pension of twelve hundred pounds a year, to proceed in forging 
new informations. 

23. The encouragement given to Oates did not fail to bring in 
others also, who hoped to profit by the delusion of the times. 
William Bedloe, a man, if possible, more inflimous than Oates, 
appeared next on the stage. He was, like the former, of very 
low birth, and had been noted for several cheats and thefts. This 
man at his own desire was arrested at Bristol, and conveyed to 
London, where he declared before the Council, that he had seen 
the body ofsirEdmundsbury Godfrey at Somerset house, where 
the queen lived. He said that a servant of lord Bellasis offered 
to give him four thousand pounds if he would carry it off, and 
finding all his information greedily received, he confirmed and 
heightened Oates' plot with tiggravated horrors. 

24. Thus encouraged by the general voice in their favour, the 
witnesses, who had all along enlarged their narratives, in pro- 
portion as they were eagerly received, went a step farther and 
ventured to accuse the queen. The commons, in an address to 
the king, gave countenance to this scandalous accusation ; the 
lords rejected it with becoming disdain. 

25. Edward Coleman, secretary to the duke of York, was the 
first who was brought to trial, as being most obnoxious to those 
who pretended to fear the introduction of popery. Bedloe swore 
that he had received a commission, signed by the superior ci 



i 



Chap. 30. CHARLES II. 175 

the Jesuits, appointing him* a papal secretary of state, and th^t 
he had consented to the king's assassination. 

26. After this unfortunate man's sentence, thus procured by 
these vipers, many members of both houses offered to interpose 
in his behalf, if he would make an ample confession ; but as he 
was in reahty possessed of no treasonable secrets, he would not 
procure life by falsehood and imposture. He suffered with 
calmness and constancy, and to the last persisted in the strongest 
protestations of his innocence. 

27. The trial of Coleman was succeeded by those of Ireland, 
Pickering and Grove. They protested their innocence, but 
were found guilt}'. Those unhappy men went to execution pro- 
testing their innocence, a circumstance which made no impres- 
sion on the spectators, their being Jesuits banishing even pity 
for their sufferings. 

28. Hill, Green and Berry, were tried upon the evidence of 
one Miles Prance, for the murder of Godfrey ; but though Bed- 
loe's narrative and Prance's information were totally irrecon- 
cilable, and though their testimony was invalidated by contra- 
ry evidence, all was in vain, the ])risoners were condemned and 
executed. They all denied their guilt at execution ; and as 
Berry died a protestant, this circumstance was regarded as very 
considerable. 

29. Whitebread, provincial of the Jesuits, Fenwick, Gavan. 
Turner and Harcourt, all o>f them of the same order, were 
brought to their trial, and Langhorne soon after. Besides Gates 
and Bedloe, Dugdale, a new witness, appeared against the pri- 
soners. This man spread the alarm still farther, and even as- 
serted, that two hundred thousand papists m England were rea- 
dy to take arms. 

30. The prisoners proved, by sixteen witnesses from St. 
Omers, that Gates was in that seminary at the time he swore he 
was in London. But as they were papists, their testimony could 
gain no manner of credit. All pleas availed them nothing ; both 
the jc-suits and Langhorne were condemned and executed, with 
their last breath denying the crimes for which they died. 

31. The informers had less success on the trial of sir George 
Wakeman, the queen's phj^sician, who, though they swore with 
their usual animosity, was acquitted. His condemnation would 
have involved the queen in his guilt ; and it is probable the 
judge and jury were afraid of venturing too far. 

32. The earl of Stafford, near two years after, was the last 
man who fell a sacrifice to these bloody wretches ; the witnesses 
produced against him were Gates, Dugdale and Tuberville. 
Gates swore that he saw Fenwick, the Jesuit, deliver Stafford a 
commission from the general of the Jesuits, constituting him pay- 

H2 



176 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30 

master of the papal army. The clamour and outrage of the 
populace against the prisoner was very great ; he was found 
guilty, and condemned to be hanged and quartered ; but the king 
changed the sentence into that of beheading. He was executed 
on Tower hill, where even his persecutors could not forbear 
shedding tears at the serene fortitude which shone in every fea- 
ture, motion and accent, of this aged nobleman. 

33. Thfs parliament having continued to sit for seventeen 
years without interruption, a new one was called, in which was 
passed the celebrated statute, called the Habeas Corpus act^ 
which confirms the subject in an absolute security from oppres- 
sive power. By this act it was prohibited to send any one to 
prisons beyond the sea ; no judge under severe penalties, was 
to refuse to any prisoner his writ of habeas corpus ; by which 
the jailer was to produce in court the body of the prisoner, 
whence the writ had its name, and to certify the cause of his 
detainer and imprisonment. 

34. If the jail be within twenty miles of the judge, the writ 
must be obeyed in three days, and so proportionably for great- 
er distances. Every prisoner must be indict'^d the first term of 
his commitment, and brought to trial the subsequent term. And 
no man after being enlarged by court can be recommitted for the 
same offence. 

35. The Meal Tub plot, as it was called, soon followed the 
former. One Dangerfield,more ini^unous, if possible, than Oates 
and Bedloe, a wretch who had been set in the pillory, scourged, 
branded and transported for felony and coining, hatched a plot in 
conjunction with a midwife, whose name was Cellier, a Roman 
catholic, of abandoned character. Dangerfield began by declar- 
ing, that there was a design on foot to set up a new form of go- 
vernment, and remove the king and the roj'^al family. 

36. He communicated this intelligence to the king and duke 
of York, who supplied him with money, and countenanced his 
discovery. He hid some seditious papers in the lodgings of one 
colonel Mansel ; and then brought the customhouse officers to 
his apartment, to search for smuggled merchandise. The pa- 
pers were found, and the council having examined the affair, 
concluded they were forged by Dangerfield. 

37. They ordered alHhe places he frequented to be search- 
ed ; and in the house of Cellier, the whole scheme of the con 
spiracy was discovered upon paper, concealed in a meal tub, 
from whence the plot had its name. Dangerfield being commit 
ted to Newgate, made an ample confession of the forgery, which, 
though probably entirely of iiis own contrivance, he ascribed to 
ihe earl of Castlemain, the countess of Powis, and the five lords 
m the Tower. 



Chap. 30. CHARLES 11. 177 

38. He said that the design was to suborn witnesses to prove 
a charge of sodomy and perjury upon Gates, to assassinate the 
earl of Shaftsbury, to accuse the dukes of Monmouth and Buck- 
ingham, the earls of Essex, Halifax and others, of having been 
concerned in the conspiracy against the king and his brother. 
Upon this information, the earl of Castlemain and the countess 
of Powis were sent to the Tower, and the king himself was sus- 
pected of encouraging this imposture. 

39. The chief point which the present house of commons la- 
boured to obtain, was the Exchision Bill, which, though the for- 
mer house had voted, was never passed into a law. Shaftsbury 
and many considerable men of the party had ren Jered themselves 
so obnoxious to the duke of York, that they could find safety in 
no measure but his ruin. Monmouth's friends hoped that the 
exclusion of James would make room for their patron. 

40. The duke of York's professed bigotry to the catholic super- 
stition influenced numbers ; and his tyrannies, which were prac- 
tised without control, v,'hile he continued in Scotland, rendered 
his name odious to thousands. In a week, therefore, after the 
commencement of the sessions, a motion was made for bringing 
in a bill for excluding him from the succession to the throne ; 
and a committee was appointed for that purpose. The debates 
were carried on with great violence on both sides. The king 
was present during the whole debate, and had then the pleasure 
of seeing the bill thrown out by a great majority. 

41. Each party had now for some time reviled and ridiculed 
each other in pamphlets and libels ; and this practice at last was 
attended with an accident that deserves notice. One Fitzharris, 
an Irish papist, dependant on the duchess of Portsmouth, one of 
the king's mistresses, used to supply her with these occasion.il 
publications. But he was resolved to add to their number by his 
own endeavours ; and employed one Everhard, a Scotsman, to 
write a libel against the king and the duke of York. 

42. The Scot wa* actually a spy for the opposite party ; and 
supposing this a trick to entrap him, he discovered the whole to 
sir William Waller, an eminent justice of peace ; and to convince 
him of the truth of his information, posted him, and other two 
persons, privately, where they heard the whole conference be- 
tween Fitzharris and himself. The libel composed between them 
was replete with the utmost rancour and scurrility. Wailer carried 
the intelligence to the king, and obtained a warrant for commit- 
ting Fitzharris, who happened at that very time to have the copy 
of the libel in his pocket. 

43. Seeing himself in the hands of a party, from which he ex- 
pected no mercy, he resolved to side with them, and throw the 
odium of the libel upon the court, who, he said, were willing tp 



178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30) 

draw up a libel which should be imputed to the exclusioners, and 
thus render them hateful to the people. He enhanced his ser- 
vices with the country party, by a new popish plot, still more 
tremendous than any of the foregoing. He brought in the duke 
of York as a principal accomplice in this plot, and as a contriver 
in the murder of sir Edmondsbury Godfrey. 

44. The king imprisoned Fitzharris ; the commons avowed 
his cause. They voted that he should be impeached by them- 
selves, to screen him from the ordinary forms of justice ; the lords 
rejected the impeachment ; the commons asserted their right ; a 
commotion was likely to ensue ; and the king to break off the con- 
test, went to the house, and dissolved the parliament, with a firm 
resolution never to call another. 

45. This vigorous measure was a blow that the parliament had 
never expected, and nothing but the necessity of the times could 
have justified the king's manner of proceeding. From that mo- 
ment, which ended the parliamentary commotions, Charles seem- 
ed to rule with despotic power, and he was resolved to leave the 
succession to his brother, but clogged with all the faults and mis- 
fortunes of his own administration. His temper, which had always 
been easy and merciful, now become arbitrary, and even cruel •, 
he entertained spies and informers around the throne, and im- 
prisoned all such as he thought most daring in their designs. 

46. He resolved to humble the presbyterians ; these were 
divested of their employments and their places ; and their of- 
fices given to such as held with the court, and approved the doc- 
trine of non-resistance. The clergy began to testify their zeal 
and their principles by their writings and their sermons ; but 
though among these the partizans of the king were the most 
numerous, those of the opposite faction were the most enterpris- 
ing. The king openly espoused the cause of the former ; and 
thus placing himself at the head of a faction, he deprived the city 
of London, which had long headed the popular party, of their 
charter. It was not till after an abject submission that he restored 
it to them, having previously subjected the election of their ma- 
gistrates to his immediate authority. 

47. Terrors also were not wanting to confirm this new species , 
of monarchy. Fitzharris was brought to his trial before a jury, 
and condemned and executed. The whole gang of spies, wit- 
nesses, informers, suborners, which had long been encouraged 
and supported by the leading patriots, finding now that the king 
was entirely master, turned short upon their ancient drivers, and 
offered their evidence against those who had first put them in 
motion. The king's ministers, with a horrid satisfaction, gave 
them countenance and encouragement ; so that soon the same 
cruelties, and the same injustice, was practised against presbyte- 



Chap. 30. CHARLES II. 179 

rian schemes that had been employed agamst catholic trea- 
sons. 

48. The first person that fell under the displeasure of the mi- 
nistry was one Stephen College, a London joiner, who had be- 
come so noted for his zeal against popery, that he went by the 
name of the protestant joiner. He had attended the city mem- 
bers to Oxford, armed with sword and pistol ; he had been some- 
times heard to speak irreverently of the king, and was now pre- 
sented by the grand jury of London as guilty of sedition. A jury 
at Oxford, after half an hour's deliberation, brought him in guilty, 
and the spectators testified their inhuman pleasure with a shout 
of applause. He bore his fate with unshaken fortitude, and at 
tlie place of execution denied the crime for which he had been 
condemned. 

49. The power of the crown, by this time, became ir- » p 
resistible, the city of London having been deprived of jgng* 
their charter, which was restored only upon terms of 
submission ; and the giving up the nomination of their own ma- 
gistrates, was so mortifying a circumstance, that all the other 
corporations in England soon began to fear tJie same treatment, 
and were successively induced to surrender their charters into 
the hands of the king. 

60. Considerable sums were exacted for restoring these char- 
ters, and all the offices of power and profit were left at the dis- 
posal of the crown. Resistance now, however justifiable, could 
not be safe ; and all prudent men saw no other expedient, but 
peaceably submitting to the present grievances. But there was 
a party in England, that still cherished their former ideas of 
freedom, and were resolved to hazard every danger in its de- 
fence. 

51. The duke of Monmouth, the king's natural son by Mrs. 
Waters, engaged the earl of Macclesfield, lord Brandon, sir Gil- 
bert Gerrard, and other gentlemen in Cheshire, in his cause. 
Lord Russel fixed a correspondence with sir William Courtney, 
sir Francis Rovvles, and sir Francis Drake, who promised to 
raise the west. Shaftsbury, with one Ferguson, an independent 
clergyman, and a restless plotter, managed the city, upon which 
the confederates chiefly relied. 

52. It was now that this turbulent man found his schemes most 
likely to take effect. Aftei the disappointment and destruction 
of a hundred plots, he at last began to be sure of this. But this 
scheme, like all the former, was disappointed. The caution of 
lord Russel, who induced the duke of Monmouth to put off the 
enterprise, saved the kingdom from the horrors of a civil war, 
while Shaftsbury was so struck with a sense of his impending 
danger, that he left his house, and larking about the citv. 



180 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap, sa: 

attempted, but in vam, to drive the Londoners into open insur- 
rection. 

53. At last, enraged at the numberless cautions and delays 
which clogged and defeated his projects, he threatened to begin 
vnth his friends alone. However, after a long struggle between 
fear and rage, he abandoned all hopes of success, and fled out 
of the kingdom to Amsterdam, where he ended his turbulent 
life soon after, without being pitied by his friends, or feared by 
his enemies. 

64. The loss of Shaftsbury, though it retarded the views oi 
the conspirators, did not suppress them. A council of six was 
erected, consisting of Monmouth, Russel, Essex, Howard, Al- 
gernon Sidney, and John Hampden, grandson to the great man 
of that name. 

55. Such, together with the duke of Argyle, were the leaders 
of this conspiracy. But there was also a set of subordinate con- 
spirators, who frequently met together, and carried on projects 
quite unknown to Monmouth and his council. 

56. Among these men was colonel Rumsey, an old republican 
officer, together with lieutenant colonel Walcot, of the same 
stamp ; Goodenough, under sherift' of London, a zealous and 
noted party man ; Furguson, an independent minister, and several 
attorneys, merchants and tradesmen, of London. But Rumsey 
and Ferguson were the only persons that had access to the great 
leaders of the conspiracy. 

57. These men in their meetings embraced the most desper 
rate resolutions. They proposed to assassinate the king in his 
way to Newmarket ; Rumbal, one of the party, possessed a farm 
upon that road called the Rye-house, and from thence the con- 
spiracy was denominated the Rye-house plot. 

58. They deliberated upon a scheme of stopping the king's 
coach, by overturning a cart upon the high way at this place, 
and shooting him through the hedges. The house in which the 
king lived at Newmarket, took fire accidentally, and he was 
obliged to leave Newmarket eight days sooner than was expect- 
ed, to which circumstance his safety is ascribed. 

59. Among the conspirators was one Keiling, who finding him- 
self in danger of a prosecution for arresting the lord mayor of 
London, resolved to earn his pardon by discovering this plot to 
the ministry. Colonel Rumsey, and West, a lawyer, no sooner 
understood that this man had informed against them, than they 
agreed to save their lives by turning king's evidence, and they 
surrendered themselves accordingly. Monmouth absconded j 
Russel was sent to the Tower ; Gray escaped ; Howard was 
taken concealed in a chimney ; Essex, Sidney and Hampden, 



Chap. 30. CHARLES 11. 181 

were soon after arrested, and had the mortification to find lord 
Howard an evidence against thera. 

60. Walcot was first brought to trial and condemned, together 
with Home and Rouse, two associates in the conspinicy, upon 
the evidence of Rumsey, West and Sheppard. They died peni- 
tent, acknowledging the justice of the sentence by which they 
were executed. A much greater sacrifice was shortly after to 
follow. This was lord Russel, son of the earl of Bedford, a no- 
bleman of numberless good qualities, and led into this conspi 
racy from a conviction of the duke of York's intentions to re- 
store popery. 

61. He was liberal, popular, humane and brave. All his vir- 
tues were so many crimes, in the present suspicious disposition 
of the court. The chief evidence against him was lord Howard 
a man of very bad character, one of the conspirators, who was 
now contented to take life upon such terms, and to accept of in- 
famous safety. 

62. This witness swore that Rus«el was engaged in the design 
of an insurrection, but he acquitted him, as did also Rumsey and 
West, of being privy to the assassination. The jury, who were 
zealous royahsts, after a short deliberation, brought the prison- 
er in guilty, and he was condemned to suffer beheading. The 
scaffold for his execution was erected in Lincoln's Inn fields ; 
he laid his head on the block without the least change of coun- 
tenance, and at two strokes it was severed from his body. 

63. The celebrated Algernon Sidney, son to the earl of Lei- 
cester, was next brought to his trial. He had been formerly 
(engaged in the parliamentary army against the late king, and was 
even named on the high court of justice that tried him, but had 
not taken his seat among the judges. He had ever opposed 
Cromwell's usurpation, and went into voluntary banishment 
upon the restoration. His affairs, however, requiring his return, 
lie applied to the king for a pardon, and obtained his request. 

64. But all his hopes, and all his reasonings were formed upon 
republican principles. For his adored republic he had written 
and fought, and went into banishment, and ventured to return. 
It may easily be conceived how obnoxious a man of such prin- 
ciples was to a court, that now was not even content with limit- 
ations to its power. They went so far as to take illegal me- 
thods to procure his condemnation. The only witness that de- 
posed against Sidney was lord Howard, and the law required 
two. 

66. In order to make out a second v/itness, they had recourse 
to a very extraordinary expedient. In ransacking his closet, 
some discourses on government were found, in his own hand 
Ttriting, containing principles favourable to liberty, and in them 



n^ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. Si 

selves no way subversive of limited government. By overstrain - 
infij some of these they were construed into treason. In vain he 
alfeged that papers were no evidence ; that it could not be prov- 
ed they were written by him ; that, if proved, the papers them- 
selves contained nothing criminal. 

66. His defence was overruled ; the violent and inhuman 
Jeffries, w^ho was now the chief justice, easily prevailed on a 
partial jury to bring him in guilty, and his execution followed 
soon after. One can scarce contemplate the transactions of this 
reign without horror. Such a picture of factious guilt on each 
side, a court at once immersed in sensuality and blood, a people 
armed against each other with the most deadly animosity, and 
no single party to be found with sense enough to stem the general 
torrent of rancour, and factious suspicion. 

67. Hampden was tried soon after, and as there was nothing 
to aifect his life, he was fined forty thousand pounds. Halloway, 
a merchant of Bristol, who had fled to the West Indies, was 
brought over, condemned, and executed. Sir Thomas Armstrong, 
also, who had fled to Holland, was brought over and shared the 
same fate. Lord Essex, who had been imprisoned in the Tow- 
er, was found in an apartment with his throat cut ; but v/hether 
he was guilty of suicide, or whether the bigotry of the times 
might not have induced some assassin to commit the crime, can- 
not now be known. 

68. This was the last blood that was shed for an imputation 
of plots of conspiracies, which continued during the greatest 
part of this reign. 

69. At this period the government of Charles was as absolute 
as that of any monarch in Europe ; but happily for mankind his 
tyranny was but of short duration. The king was seized with a 
sudden fit, which resembled an apoplexy ; and though he was 
recovered by bleeding, yet he languished only for a few days, 
and then expired in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the twen- 
ty-fifth of his reign. During his illness some clergymen of the 
church of England attended him, to whom he discovered a total 
indifference. Catholic priests were brought to his bedside, and 
from their hands he received the rites of their communion. 



CHAPTER XXXI.— James II. 

k ry ^' '^^^ <^»^Q of York, who succeeded his brother, by 
* * the title of king James the second, had been bred a pa- 
pist by his mother, and was strongly bigotted to his prin- 
eiples. 

2. He went openly to mass with all the ensigns of his dignity 



CHap. 31. - JAMES If. 1&3 

and even sent one Caryl as his agent to Rome, to make submis- 
sion to the pope, and to pave the way for the readmission of 
England into the bosom of the catholic church. 

3. A conspiracy, set on foot by the dnke of Monmouth, was 
the first disturbance in his reign. He had since his last conspi- 
racy, been pardoned ; he was ordered to depart the kingdom, 
and had retired to Holland. Being dismissed from thence by 
the prince of Orange, upon James's accession he went to Brus- 
sels, where, finding himself still pursued by the king's severity, 
he resolved to retahate, and make an attempt upon the kingdom. 

4. He had ever been the darhng of the people, and some 
averred, that Charles had married his mother, and owned Mon- 
mouth's legitimacy at his death. The duke of Argyle seconded 
his views in Scotland, and they formed the scheme of a double 
insurrection ; So that while Monmouth should attempt to make 
a rising in the west, Arg}'le was also to try his endeavours in the 
north. 

5. Argyle was the first who landed in Scotland, where . p. 
he published his manifestoes, put himself at the head .'npp^ 
of two thousand five hundred men, and strove to influ- ' 
ence the people in his cause. But a formidable body of the king's 
forces coming against him, his army fell away, and he himself, 
after being wounded in attempting to escape, was taken prisoner 
by a peasant, who found him standing up to the neck in a pool of 
water. He was from thence carried to Edinburgh, where, after 
enduring many indignities with a gallant spirit, he was publicly 
executed. 

6. Meanwhile Monmouth was by this time landed in Dorset- 
shire, with scarce a hundred followers. However, his name 
was so popular, and so great was the hatred of the people, both 
for the person and religion of James, that in four days he had as- 
sembled a body of above two thousand men. 

7. Being advanced to Taunton, his numbers had increased to 
six thousand men ; he was obliged every day, for want cjf arms, 
to dismiss numbers, who crowded to his standard. He entered 
Bridgewater, Wells, and Frome, and was proclaimed in all those 
places ; but he lost the hour of action, in receiving and claiming 
these empty honours. 

8. The king was not a little alarmed at this invasion, but still 
more at the success of an undertaking that at first seemed des- 
perate. Six regiments of British troops were called over from 
Holland, and a body of regulars to the number of three thousiind 
men, were sent, under the command of the earls of Feversham 
and Churchill, to check the progress of the rebels. 

9. They took post at Sedgemore, a village in the neighbour- 
hood of Bridgewater, and were joined by the militia of the coun- 



184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 31 

try in considerable numbers. It was there that Monmouth re- 
solved, by a desperate effort, to lose his life or gain the king- 
dom. The negligent disposition made by Feversham invited him 
to the attack ; and his faithful followers showed what courage 
and principle could do against discipline and superior numbers. 

10. They drove the royal inf tntry from the ground, and were 
upon the point of gaining the victory, when the misconduct of 
Monmouth and the cowardice of lord Gray, who commanded the 
horse, brought all to ruin. 

11. This noblemnn fled at the first onset, and the rebels being 
charged in flank by the victorious army, gave way, after a three 
hours contest. About three hundred were killed in the engage- 
ment, and a thousand in the pursuit ; and thus ended an enter- 
prise, rashly begun, and more feebly conducted. 

12. Monmouth fled from the field of battle above twenty 
miles, till his horse sunk under him. He then alighted, and ex- 
changing clothes with a shepherd, fled on foot, attended by a 
German count, who had acconi})anied him from Holland. Being 
quite exhausted with hunger and fatigue, they both lay down in 
a field, and covered themselves with fern. 

13. The shepherd being found in Monmouth's clothes, by the 
pursuers, increased the diligence of the search, and by means 
of blood hounds, he was detected in this miserable condition, 
with raw peas in his pocket, which he gathered in the fields to 
sustain life. 

14. He burst into tears when seized by his enemies, and pe- 
titioned, with the most abject submission, for life. He wrote the 
most submissive letters to the king, and that monarch, willing to 
feast his eyes with the miseries of a fallen enemy, gave him 
audience. 

15. At this interview the duke fell upon his knees, and begged 
his life in the most abject terms. He even signed a paper, offer- 
ed him by the king, declaring his own illegitimacy, and then the 
stern tyrant assured him, that his crime was of such a nature as 
could not be pardoned. The duke perceiving that he had no- 
thing to hope from the clemency of his uncle, recollected his 
spirits, rose up, and retired with an air of disdain. 

16. He was followed to the scaffold with great compassion 
from the populace. He v^^arned the executioner, not to fall into 
the same error which he had committed in beheading Russel, 
where it had been necessary to redouble the blow. But this 
only increased the severity of his punishment, the man was seiz- 
ed with an universal trepidation, and he struck a feeble blow ; 
upon which the duke raised his head from the block, as if to re 
proach him ; he gently laid down his head a second time, auO 
the executioner struck him again and again to no purpose. 



Chap. 31. JAMES II. 18£, 

17. He at last threw the axe down, but the sheriff compelled 
him to resume the attempt, and at two blows more the head was 
severed from the body. Such was the end of James duke of Mon- 
mouth, the darhngofthe English people. He was brave, sincere, 
and good natured, open to flattery, and by that seduced into an 
enterprise which exceeded his capacity. 

18. But it had been good for the insurgents, and fortunate for 
the king, if the blood that was then shed had been thought a suf- 
ficient expiation of the late offence. The victorious army be- 
haved with the most savage cruelty to the prisoners taken after 
the battle. Feversham immediately after the victory hanged up 
above twenty prisoners. 

19. The military severities of the commanders were still 
nferior to the legal slaughters committed by judge Jeffries, who 
Ti^as sent down to try the delinquents. The natural brutality of 
this man's temper was inflamed by continual intoxication. Ho 
told the prisoners, that if they would save him the trouble of try- 
ingthem, they might expect some fjvour, otherwise he would ex- 
ecute the law upon them with the utmost severity. 

20. Many poor wretches were thus allured into a confession, 
and found that it only hastened their destruction. No less than 
eighty were executed at Dorchester ; and on the whole, at Exe- 
ter, Taunton and Wells, two hundred and fifty-one are computed 
to have fillen by the hand of justice. 

21. In ecclesiastical matters James proceeded with still great 
er injustice. Among those who distinguished themselves against 
popery, was one doctor Sharpe, a clergyman of London, who de 
claimed, with just severity, against those who had changed their 
religion, by such arguments as the popish emissaries were able 
to produce. 

22. This being supposed to reflect upon the king, gave great 
offence at court, and positive orders were given to the bishop of 
London to suspend Sharp, till his majesty's pleasure should be 
further known. The bishop refused to comply, and the king 
resolved to punish the bishop himself for his disobedience. 

23. To effect his designs, an ecclesiastical commission was is- 
sued out. by which seven commissioners were invested with a full 
and unlimited authority over the whole church of England. Be- 
fore this tribunal the bishop was summoned, and not only he, 
but Sharpe, the preacher, were suspended. 

24. The next step was to allow a liberty of conscience to all 
sectaries ; and he was taught to believe, that the truth of the ca- 
tholic religion would then, upon f\ir trial, gain the victory. He 
therefore issued a declaration of general indulgence, and asserted 
that nonconformity to the established religion was no longex 
penal. 



186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 31. 

25. To complete his work he pubhcly ^ent the earl of Castle- 
main ambassador extraordinary to Rome, in order to express his 
obedience to the pope, and to reconcile his kingdoms to the ca- 
tholic communion. Never was there so much contempt thrown 
upon an embassy that was so boldly undertaken. The court of 
Rome expected but httle success from measures so blindly con- 
ducted. They were sensible that the king was openly striking 
at those laws and opinions, which it was his business to undermine 
in silence and security. 

26. The Jesuits soon after were permitted to erect colleges in 
different parts of the kingdom ; they exercised the catholic wor- 
ship in the most public manner ; and four catholic bishops, con^ 
secratedmthe king's chapel, were sent through the kingdom, to 
exercise their episcopal functions, under the title of apostolic 
vicars. ^ 

27. Father Francis, a Benedictine monk, was recommended by 
the king to the university of Cambridge, for the degree of master 
of arts. But his religion was a stumblingblock which the uni- 
versity could not get over, and they presented a petition, be- 
seeching the king to recall hi*^ mandate. Their petition, was 
disregarded, their deputies denied a hearing, the vice chancel- 
lor himself was summoned to appear before the high commission 
court, and deprived of his office ; yet the university persisted, 
and father Francis was refused. 

28. The place of president of Magdalen college, one of the 
richest foundations in Europe, being vacant, the king sent a man- 
date in favor of one Farmer, a new convert to popery, and a man 
of very bad character in other respects. The fellows of the 
college made very submissive applications to the king for re- 
calling his mandate ; they refused admitting the candidate, and 
James, finding them resolute in tiie defence of their privileges 
ejected them all except two. 

. j^ 29. A second declaration for liberty of conscience was 
\nao' published, almost in the same terms with the former, 
but with this peculiar injunction, that all divines should 
read it after service in their churches. The clergy were 
known universally to disapprove of these measures, and they^ 
were now resolved to disobey an order dictated by the most 
bigotted motives. They were determined to trust their cause 
to the favour of the people, and that universal jealousy which' 
prevailed against the encroachments of the crown. 

30. The first champions on this service of danger, were! 
Loyde, bishop of St. Asaph, Ken, of Bath and Wells, Turner,i 
of Elj^ Lake, of Chichester, White, of Peterborough, and Tre- 
lawney, of Bristol ; these, together with Bancroft, the primate, 
concerted an address, in the form of a petition, to the king, 



Chap. 31. JAMES II. 187 

which with the warmest expressions of zeal and .submission, re- 
monstrated that they could not read his declaration consistent 
with their consciences, or the respect they owed the protestant 
religion. 

31. The king in a fury commanded the bishops before the 
council, and there questioned them whether they would acknow- 
ledge their petition. They for some time declined giving an 
answer ; but being urged by the chancellor, they at last owned 
it. On their refusal to give bail, an order was immediately 
drawn for their commitment to the Tower ; and the crown law- 
3^ers received directions to prosecute them for a seditious libel. 

32. The twenty-ninth day of June was tixed for their trial ; 
and their return was more splendidly attended than their im- 
prisonment. The cause was looked upon as involving the fate 
of the nation, and future freedom, or future slavery awaited the 
decision. 

33. The dispute was learnedly managed by the lawyers on 
both sides. Holloway and Powel, two of the judges, declared 
themselves in favour of the bishops. The jury withdrew into a 
chamber, where they passed the whole night ; but next morn- 
ing they returned into court, and pronounced the bishops, Not 
Guilty. 

34. Westminster hall instantly rang with loud acclamations, 
which were communicated to the whole extent of the city. They 
even reached the camp at Hounslow, where the king was at din- 
ner in lord Feyersham's tent. His majesty demanding the cause 
of those rejoicings, and being informed that it was nothing but 
the soldiers shouting at the delivery of the bishops, " Call you 
that nothing ?" cried he, '* but so much the v/orse for them." 

35. It was in this posture of affairs that all people turned their 
f^yes to William, prince of Orange, who had married Mary, the 
eldest daughter of king James. 

36. WiUiam was a prince who from his earhest entrance into 
business, had been immersed in dangers, calamities and politics. 
The ambition of France, and the jealousies of Holland, had serv- 
ed to sharpen his talents, and to give him a propensity to in- 
trigue. 

37- This politic prince now plainly saw that James had . j-v 
incurred the most violent hatred of his subjects. He was |j-no 
minutely informed of their discontents, and by seeming to 
discourage, still farther increased them, hoping to gain the king- 
dom for himself in the sequel. 

38. The time when the prince entered upon his enterprise, 
was just when the people were in a flame from this recent insult 
offered to their bishops. He had before this made considerable 
augmentation to the Dutch fleet, and the ships were then lying 



IBS HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 31 

ready in the harbour. Some addition^J troops were also levied, 
and sums of money, raised for other purposes, were converted 
to the advancement of this expedition. 

39. So well concerted were his measures, that in three days 
above four hundred transports were hired, the army fell down 
the rivers and canals from Nimeguen, with all necessary stores ; 
and the prince set sail from Helvoetsluys with a fleet of near 
five hundred vessels, and an army of about fourteen thousand 
men. 

40. It was given out, that this invasion was intended for the 
coast of France, and many of the English who saw the fleet pass 
along their coasts, little expected to see it land upon their own 
shores. Thus, after a voyage of two days, the prince landed 
his army at the village of Broxbolm in Torbay, on the fifth of 
November, which was the anniversary of the gunpowder treason. 

41. But though the invitation from the EngUsh was very ge- 
neral, the prince, for some time, had the mortification to find 
himself joined by very few. He marched first to Exeter, where 
the country people had been so lately terrified with the execu- 
tions which had ensued on Monmouth's rebellion, that they con- 
tinued to observe a strict neutrality. 

42. He remained for ten days in expectation of being joined 
by the malecontents, and at last began to despair of success. But 
just when he began to deliberate aljout re-embarking his forces^ 
lie was joined by several persons of consequence, and the whole 
country soon after came flocking to his standard. 

43. The nobility, clergy, officers, and even the king's own 
servants and creatures, were unanimous in deserting James. 
Lord Churchill had been raised from the rank of a page, and 
been invested with a high command in the army ; had been 
created a peer, and owed his whole fortune to the king's bounty ; 
even he deserted among the rest, and carried with him the duke 
of Grafton, natural son to the late king, colonel Berkley, and 
some others. 

44. The prince of Denmark, and Anne, his favourite daughter, 
perceiving the desperation of his circumstances, resolved to leave 
him, and take part with the prevailing side. When he was told 
that the prince and princess had followed the rest of his favour- 
ites, he was stung with the most bitter anguish. *' God help me," 
cried he, in the extremity of his agony, " my own children have 
forsaken me." 

45. The king, alarmed every day more and more with the 
prospect of a general disaffection, was resolved to hearken tO| 
those who advised his quitting the kingdom. To prepare for 
this he sent away his queen, who arrived safely at Calais, under 
the conduct of count Lnu/an an old favourite of the French 



Chap. 32 WILLIAM III. 189 

king. He himself soon after disappeared in the night time, at- 
tended only by sir Edward Hales, a new convert ; but was dis 
covered and brought back by the mob. 

46. But shortly after being confined at Rochester, and observ- 
ing that he was entirely neglected by his own subjects, he resolv- 
ed to seek safety from the king of France, the only friend he 
had still remaining. He accordingly fled to the sea side, attend- 
ed by his natural son, the duke of Berwick ; where he embark- 
ed for the continent, and arrived in safety at Ambleteuse in 
Picardy, from whence he hastened to the court of France, where 
he still enjoyed the empty title of king, and the appellation of a 
saint, which flattered him more. 

47. The king having thus abdicated the throne, the next con- 
sideration was the appointing a successor. Some declared . ^ 
for a regent ; others that the princess of Orange should /^nj.' 
oe invested with regal power, and the young prince con- 
sidered as suppositious. After a long debate in both houses, a 
new sovereign was preferred to a regent, by a majority of two 
voices. It was agreed, that the prince and princess of Orange 
should reign jointly, as king and queen of England, while the 
administration of government should be placed in the hands o 
the Drince only. 



CHAPTER XXXII.— William III. 

1. William was no sooner elected to the throne, thanne be- 
gan to experience the difficulty of governing a people, who were 
more ready to examine the commands of their superiors than to 
©bey them. 

2. His reign commenced with an attempt similar to that which 
had been the principal cause of all the disturbances in the pre- 
ceding reign, which had excluded the monarch from the throne. 
William was a calvinist, and consequently averse to persecution ; 
he therefore began by attempting to repeal those laws that en- 
joined uniformity of worship ; and though he could not entirely 
«ucceed in his design, a toleration was granted to such dissenters 
as should take oaths of allegiance, and hold no private conven- 
ticles. 

3. In the mean time James, whose authority was still acknow- 
ledged in Ireland, embarked at Brest for that kingdom, and on 
May 22 arrived at Kinsale. He soon after made his public en- 
try into Dublin, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. He 
found the appearances of things in that country equal to his most 
sanguine expectations. Tyrconnel, the lord lieutenant, was de- 
Toted to his interests ; his old army was steady, and a new one 
raised, amounting together to near forty thousand men. 



190 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 32 

4. As soon as the season would permit, he \ ..i to lay siege 
to Londonderry, a town of small importance in itself, but ren- 
dered famous by the stand which it made on this occasion. 

6. The besieged endured the most poignant sufferings from 
fatigue and famine, until at last relieved by a store ship that 
happily broke the boom laid across the river to prevent a sup- 
ply. The joy of the inhabitants at this unexpected relief was 
only equalled by the rage and disappointment of the besieger? 
The army of James was so dispirited by the success of this en- 
terprise, that they abandoned the siege in the night, and retired 
with precipitation, after having lost above nine thousand men be- 
fore the place. 

• p. 6. It was on the opposite bank of the river Boyne that 
* * both armies came in sight of eadi other, inflamed with 
all the animosities arising from religion, hatred and re- 
venge. The river Boyne at this place was not so deep, but 
that men might wade over on foot ; however, the banks were 
rugged, and rendered dangerous by old houses and ditches, which 
served to defend the latent enemy. 

7. William, who now headed the protestant army, had no 
sooner arrived but he rode along the side of the river, in sight 
of both armies, to make proper observations upon the plan of 
battle ; but in the mean time being perceived by the enemy, a 
cannon was privately brought out, and planted against him, where 
he was sitting. The shot killed several of his followers, and he 
himself was wounded in the shoulder. 

8. Early the next morning at six o'clock, king William gave 
orders to force a pass over the river. This the army undertook 
in three different places, and after a furious cannonading, the 
battle began with unusual vigour. The Irish troops though 
reckoned the best in Europe abroad, have always fought indif 
ferently at home, after an obstinate resistance, they fled with 
precipitation, leaving the French and Swiss regiments, who came 
to their assistance, to make the best retreat they could. 

9. William led on his horse in person, and contributed by his 
activity and vigilance, to secure the victory. James was not in 
the battle, but stood aloof during the action, on the hill of Dun- 
more, surrounded with some squadrons of horse ; and at inter- 
vals he was heard to exclaim, when he saw his own troops re- 
pulsing those of the enemy, " O spare my English subjects." 

10. The Irish lost about fifteen hundred men, and the pro* 
testants about one third of that number, The victory was splen- ' 
did and almost decisive ; but the death of the duke of Schom- 
bera;, who was shot as he was crossing the water, seemed to out- 
weigh the whole loss sustained by the enemy 



Cnap. 32. WILLIAM IH. 191 

11. The last battle fought in favour of James was at » ^^ 
Aughrim. The enemy fought with surprising fury, and /p.^/ 
the horse were several times repulsed ; but the English 
wading through the middle of the bog, up to the waist in mud, 
and rallying with some difficult}^ on the firm ground, on the 
other side, renewed the combat with great fury. 

12. St. Ruth, the Irish general, being killed by a cannon ball, 
his fate so dispirited his troops that they gave way on all sides, 
and retreated to Limerick, where they resolved to make a final 
stand, after having lost above five thousand of the flower of their 
army. 

10. Limerick, the last retreat of the Irish forces, made a brave 
defence ; but soon seeing the enemy advanced within ten paces 
of the bridge foot, and perceiving themselves surrounded on all 
sides, they determined to capitulate ; a negociation was imme- 
diately begun, and hostilities reased on both sides. 

14. The Roman Catholics, by this capitulation, were restor- 
ed to the enjoyment of those liberties, in the exercise of their 
religion, which they had possessed in the reign of king Charles 
the second. 

16. All persons were indulged with free leave to remove 
with their families and effects to any other country, except Eng- 
land and Scotland. In consequence of this, about fourteen 
thousand of those who had fought for king James went over in- 
to France, having transports provided by government for con- 
veying them thither. 

16. James was now reduced to the lovt^est ebb of de- . j. 
spondence, his designs upon England were q'ute frustrat- /nng 
ed, so that nothing was left his friends but the hopes of 
^assassinating the monarch on the throne. 

' 17. These base attempts, as barbarous as they were useless, 
vvere not entirely disagreeable to the temper of James. It is 
aid he encouraged and proposed them ; but they all proved un- 
jerviceable to his cause, and only ended in the destruction of 
ihe undertakers. 

13. From that time till he died, which was about seven years, 
le continued to reside at St. Germains, a pensioner on the 
lounty of Lewis, and assisted by occasional liberalities from his 
laughters and friends in England. He died on the sixteenth 
lay of September, in the year 1700, after having laboured un- 
ler a tedious sickness ; and many miracles, as the people 
bought, were wrought at his tomb. 

19. Indeed, the latter part of his life was calculated to in- 
pire the superstitious with reverence for his piety. He sub- 
ected himself to acts of uncommon penance and mortification 



192 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 32 

He frequently visited the poor monks at La Trappe, who were 
edified by his humble and pious deportment. 

20. His pride and arbitrary temper seemed to have vanished 
with his greatness ; he became affable, kind and easy, to all his 
dependants, and in his last illness conjured his son to prefer re- 
ligion to every worldly advantage, a counsel which that prince 
strictly obeyed. He died with great marks of devotion, and 4 
was interred, at his own request, in the church of the English 1 
Benedictines at Paris, without any funeral solemnity. 

21. William, upon accepting the crown, was resolved to pre- 
serve, as much as he was able, that share of prerogative which 
still was left him. 

22. But at length he became fatigued with opposing the laws 
which parliament every day was laying round his authority, and 
gave up the contest. He admitted every restraint upon the 
prerogative in England, upon condition of being properlj' suppli- 
ed with the means of humbling the power of France. 

23. War, and the balance of power in Europe, were all he 
Knew, or indeed desired to understand. Provided the parlia- 
ment furnished him with supplies for these purposes, he permit- 
ted them to rule the internal polity at their pleasure. 

24. For the prosecution of the war with France, the sums of 
money granted him were incredible. The nation not content 
with furnishing him with such sums of money as they were 
capable of raising by the taxes of the year, mortgaged those tax- - 
es, and involved themselves in debts, which they have never > 
since been able to discharge. 

25. For all that profusion of wealth granted to maintain the 
imaginary balance of Europe, England received in return, the 
empty reward of military glory in Flanders, and the conscious- 
ness of having given their allies, particularly the Dutch, fre- 
quent opportunities of being ungrateful. 

26. The war with France continued during the greatest part 
. p. of this king's reign ; but at length the treaty of Ryswick 

' _' put an end to those contentions, in which England had 
been engaged without policy, and came off without advan- 
tage. In the general pacification, her interest seemed entirely 
deserted ; and for all the treasures she had sent to the conti- 
nent, and all the blood which she had shed there, the only 
equivalent she received was an acknowledgment of king Wil* 
liam's title from the king of France. ; 

27. William was naturally of a very feeble constitution, and 
it was by this time almost exhausted by a series of continual 
disquietude and action. He had endeavoured to repair his con-*< 
stitution, at least to conceal its decays, by exercise and riding 

28. On the twenty-first day of February, in riding to Hamptoa 

i 



Qhap. 33. ANNE. 293 

court from Kensington, bis horse fell under him, and he was 
thrown with such violence, that his collar bone was fractured 
His attendants conveyed him to the palace at Hampton court, 
where the fracture was reduced, and in the evening he return- 
ed to Kensington in his coach. 

29. The jolting of the carriage disunited the fracture once 
more, and the bones were again replaced under Bidloo, his phy- 
sician. This, in a robust constitution, would have been a tri" 
Bing misfortune, but in him it was fatal. 

30. For some time he appeared to be in a way of recovery ; 
but falling asleep on his couch, he was seized with a shiver- 
ing, which terminated in a fever and diarrhoea, which soon be- 
came dangerous and desperate. Perceiving his end approach- 
ing, the objects of his former care still lay next his heart, and 
the fate of Europe seemed to remove the sensation he might be 
supposed to feel for his own. 

31. The earl of Albemarle arriving from Holland, he confer- 
red with him in private on the posture of affairs abroad. Two 
iays after, having received the sacrament from archbishop Tan 
iiison, he expired, in the fifty-second year of his age, after hav- 
ing reigned thirteen vears 



CHAPTER XXXIII.— Anne 

1. Anne, married to prince George of Denmark, ascended 
;he throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, to the general 
atisfaction of all parties. She was the second daughter of king 
ames, by his first wife, the daughter of chancellor Hyde after- 
vards earl of Clarendon. Upon coming to the crowp she re- 
olved to declare war against France, and communicated her in- 
entions to the house of commons, by whom it was approved, 
nd war was proclaimed nccordingly. 

2. This declaration of w^ar on the part of the English, was se- 
onded by similar declarations by the Dutch and Germans all on 
le same day. The French monarch could not suppress ^lis 
nger at such a combination, but his chief resentment fell upon 
le Dutch. He declared with great emotion, that as for those 
entlemen pedlars, the Dutch, they should one day repent their 
isolence and presumption, in declaring war against one whose 
ower they had formerly felt and dreaded. 

3. However the affairs of the alhes were no way influenced 
y his threats. The duke of Marlborough had his views gratifi- 
d, in being appointed general of the English forces ; and he 
^as still farther flattered by the Dutch, who, though the earl of 
thlone had a right to share the command, appointed Marl- 
orough generalissimo of the allied army. 

I 



194 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3: 

4. And it must be confessed, that few men shune more, either 
in debate or action than he ; serene in the midst of danger, and 
indefatigable in the cabinet, so that he became the most formida- 
ble enemy to France, that England had produced, since the 
conquering times of Cressy and Agincourt. 

5. A great part of the history of this reign consists in battles 
fought on the continent, which, though of very little advantage 
to the interests of the nation, were very great additions to its 
honour. These triumphs, it is true, are passed away, and no- 
thing remains of them but the names of Blenheim, Ramillies, 
Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, where the allied army gained great 
but (with respect to England) useless victories. 

6. A conquest of much greater national importance was gain- 
ed with less expense of blood and treasure in Spain. The mi- 
nistry of England, understanding that the French v/ere employed 
in equipping a strong squadron in Brest, sent out sir Cloudsley 
Shovel and sir George Rooke, to watch their motions. Sir 
George, however, had farther orders to convoy a body of forces 
in transport ships to Barcelona, upon which a fruitless attack 
was made by the prince of Hesse. 

7. Finding no hopes, therefore, from this expedition, in twoj 
days after the troops were re-embarked. Sir George Rooke, 
joined by sir Cloudsley, called a council of war on board the 
fleet, as they lay off the coast of Africa. In this they resolved 
to make an attempt upon Gibralter, a city then belonging to the 
Spaniards, at that time ill provided with a garrison, as neithe 
expecting nor fearing such an attempt. 

8. The town of Gibralter stands upon a tongue of land, as thj 
mariners call it, and defended by a rock inaccessible on eve 
side but one. The prince of Hesse landed his troops, to thi 
number of eighteen hundred, on the continent adjoining, ai 
summoned the, town to surrender, but without eifect. 

9. Next day the admiral gave orders for cannonading t 
town ; and perceiving that the enemy were driven from th 
fortification at a place called the South Molehead, ordered ca 
tain Whitaker to arm all the boats, and assault that quarter 
Those officers who happened to be nearest the Mole immedi* 
ately manned their boats without orders, and entered the forti* 
tications sword in hand. 

10. But they were premature, for the Spaniards sprung, 
mine, by which two lieutenants, and about one hundred m 
were killed and wounded. Nevertheless, the two captaii 
Hicks and Jumper, took possession of a platform, and kept th 
ground, until they were sustained by captain Whitaker, and 
rest of the seamen, who took a redoubt between the Mole 
the town by storm. 



i 1 



Uhap. 33. ANNE 19^, 

11. Then the governor capitulated, and the prince o* Hesse 
entered the place, amazed at the success of the attempt, consi- 
dering the strength of the fortifications. When the news of this 
conquest was brought to England, it was for some time in debate, 
whether it was a capture worth thanking the admiral for. 

12. It was at last considered as unworthy of the public grati- 
tude ; and while the duke of Marlborough was extolled for use- 
less services, sir George Rooke was left to neglect, and soon 
displaced from his command, for having so essentially served 
his country. A striking instance, that even in the most enlight- 
ened age, popular applause is most usually misapplied. 

13. Gibralter has ever since remained in the possession of 
the English, and continues of the utmost use in refitting that 
part of the navy destined to annoy an enemy, or protect our 
trade in the Mediterranean. Here the English have a repository, 
capable of containing ail things necessary for the repairing of 
fleets, or the equipment of armies. 

14. While the English vv^ero thus victorious by land and sea, 
a new scene of contention was opened on the side of Spain, where 
the ambition of the European princes exerted itself with the 
same fury that had filled the rest of the continent. Philip the 
fourth, grand son of Lewis the tourteenth, had been placed upon 
the throne of that kingdom, and had been received with the 
joyful concurrence of the greatest part of his subjects. 

15. He had been also nominated successor to the crown by 
the. late king of Spain's will. But in a former treaty among the 
powers of Europe, Charles, son of the emperor of Germany, 
was appointed heir to that crown ; and this treaty had been gua- 
ranteed by France herself, though she now resolved to reverse 
that consent in favour of a descendant of the house of Bourbon. 

16. Charles was still flirther led on to put in for the crown of 
Spain by the invitation of the Catalonians, who declared in his 
favour, and by the assistance of the English and Portugese, who 
promised to arm in his cause. 

17. He was turnished with two hundred transports, thirty 
ships of war, and nine thousand men, for the conquest of that 
extensive empire. But the earl of Peterborough, a man of 
romantic bravery, offered to conduct them, and his single service 
was thought equivalent to armies. 

18. The earl of Peterborough was one of the most singular 
and extraordinary men of the age in which he lived. When 
'yet but fifteen he fought against the Moors in Africa ; at twenty 
he assisted in compassing the revolution, and he now carried on 
the war in Spain, almost at his own expense ; his friendship for 
the duke Charles being one of his chief motives for this grea* 
undertaking. 



196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 33. 

19. He was deformed in his person, but of a mind the most 
generous, honourable, and active. His first att/?mpt, upon land- 
ing in Spain, was the taking of Barcelona, a strong city, with a 
garrison of five thousand men, while his own army amo mted to 
little more than nine thousand. 

20. These successes however were but of short continuance ; 
Peterborough being recalled, and the army under Charles being 
commanded by the lord Galway. This nobleman having re- 
ceived intelligence that the enemy, under the command of the 
duke of Berwick, was posted near the town of Almanza, he ad- 
vanced thither to give him battle. 

21. The conflict began about two in the afternoon, and the 
whole front of each army was fully engaged. The centre, con- 
sisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain, and Holland , 
seemed at first victorious ; but the Portuguese horse, by whom 
they were supported, betaking themselves to flight, on the first ; 
charge, the English troops were flanked and surrounded on l 
every side. ] 

22. In this dreadful emergency, they formed themselves into : 
a square, and retired to an eminence, where, being ignorant of? 
the country, and destitute of all supplies, they were obliged to I 
surrender prisoners of war, to the number often thousand men. '' 
This victory was complete and decisive, and all Spain, except 
the province of Catalonia, returned to their duty to Philip their 
sovereign. 

23. The councils of the queen had hitherto been governed 
Dy a whig ministry ; for though the duke of Marlborough had 
first started in the tory interest, he soon joined the opposite fac- 
tion, as he found them most sincere in their desires to humble 
the power of France. 

24. The whigs therefore still pursued the schemes of the late 
king ; and impressed with a republican spirit of liberty, strove to 
humble despotism in every part of Europe. In a government 
where the reasoning of individuals retired from power, generally 
leads those v/ho command, the designs of the ministry must alter 
as the people happen to change. The people in fact were be- 
ginning to change. 

25. But previous to the disgrace of the whig ministry, whose 
fall was now hastening, a measure of the greatest importance 
took place in parliament, a measure that had been wished by 
many, but thought too difficult for execution. 

26. What I mean is the union between the two kingdoms o: 
England and Scotland, which, though they were governed b 
one sovereign, since the accession of James the first, yet wer 
still ruled by their respective parliaments, and often professe 

pursue opposite interests and diff'erent designs. 



Cnap. 33. ANNE. 1D7 

27. The attempt for an union was begun at the commence 
meat of this reign, but some disputes arising relative to the trade 
to the east, the conference was broken up, and it was thought 
that an adjustment would be impossible. 

28. It was revived by an act in either parliament, granting 
power to commissioners, named on the part of both nations, to 
treat on the preliminary articles of an union, which should after- 
wards undergo a more thorough discussion by the legislative 
body of both kingdoms. The choice of these commissioners 
was left to the queen, and she took care that none should be 
employed, but such as heartily wished to promote so desirable 
a measure. 

29. Accordingly, the queen having appointed commissioners 
on both sides, they met in the council chamber of the Cockpit, 
near Whitehall, which was the place appointed for their confer- 
ences. As the queen frequently exhorted the commissioners to 
despatch, the articles of this famous union were soon agreed to, 
aim signed by the commissioners, and it only remained to lay 
tliem before the parliaments of both nations. 

30. In this famous treaty it was stipulated, that the succes- 
sion to the united kingdoms should be vested in the house of 
Hanover ; that the united kingdoms should be represented by 
one and the same parliament ; that all the subjects of Great 
Britain should enjoy a communication of privileges and advan- 
tages ; that they should have the same allowances and privi- 
leges with respect to commerce and customs. 

31. That the law-j concerning public right, civil government, 
atid policy, should be the same throughout the two united king- 
doms, but that no alteration should be made in laws which con- 
cerned private rights, except for the evident benefit of the sub- 
jects of Scotland ; that the courts of session, and all other courts 
of judicature in Scotland should remain as then constituted by 
the laws of that kingdom, with the same authority and privileges 
as before the union. 

32. That Scotland should be represented in the parliament 
of Great Britain, by sixteen peers, and forty-five commoners, 
to be elected in such a manner as should be settled by the pre- 
sent parliament of Scotland ; that all peers of Scotland should 
be considered as peers of Great Britain, and rank immediately 
after the English peers of the like degrees, at the time of the 
union, and before such as should be created after it. 

33. That they should enjoy all the privileges of peers, ex- 
cept that of sitting and voting in parliament, or sitting upon the 
trial of peers ; that ail the insignia of royalty and government 
should remain as they were. 

34. That all laws and statutes in either kingdom, so far as they 



198 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 33 

might be inconsistent v,'ith the terms of these articles, should 
cease, and be declared void, by the respective parliaments ot 
the two kingdoms. These were the principal articles of the 
union, and it only remained to obtain the sanction of the legisla- 
ture of both kingdoms to give them authority. 

36. The arguments in these different assembles were suited 
to the audience. To induce the Scots parliament to come into 
the measure, it was alleged by the ministry and their support- 
ers, tiiat an entire and perfect union would be the solid foun- 
dation of a lasting peace. It would secure their religion, liber- 
ty, and property, remove the animosities that prevailed among 
themselves, and the jealousies that subsisted between the two 
nations- 

36. It would increase their strength, riches, and commerce, 
the whole island would be joined in affection, and freed from all 
apprehensions of different uiterests. It would be enabled to 
resist all its enemies, support the protestant interests, and main- 
tain the liberties of Europe. 

37. It was observed, that the less the wheels of government 
were clogged by ,a multiplicity of councils, the more vigorous 
would be their exertions. They were shown that the taxes 
which, in consequence of this union, the}'^ were to pay, were by no 
means so grcMt proportionably as their share of the legislature. 

38. That their tuxes did not amount to a seventh part of those 
supplied by the English ; and yet their share in the legislature 
was not a tenth part less. Such were the arguments in favour 
of the union addressed to the Scots parliament. 

39. In the English houses it was observed, that a powerful 
and dangerous nation would thus forever be prevented from giv- 
ing them any disturbance ; that in case of any future rupture, 
England had every thing to lose, and nothing to gain against a na- 
tion that was courageous and poor. 

40. On the otiier h and, the Scots were fired with indignation 
at the thoughts of losing their ancient and independent govern- 
ment. The nobility found themselves degraded in point of dignit}'' 
and influence, by being excluded from their seats in parlia- 
ment. The trading part of the nation beheld their commerce 
loaded with heavy duties, and considered their new privilege of 
trading to the English plantations in the West Indies, as a very 
uncertain advantage. 

41. In the English houses it also was observed, that the union 
of a rich with a poor nation would always be beneficial to the 
latter, and that the former could only hope for a participation ot 
their necessities. It was said that the Scots reluctantly yielded 
to this coalition, and that it might be likened to a marriage with a 
woman against her consent 



Chap. 33. ANNE. 199 

42. It was supposed to be an union made up of so many un- 
matched pieces, and such incongruous ingredients, that could 
never take effect. It was complained, that the proportion of the 
land tax paid by the Scots was small, and unequal to their share 
in the legislature. 

43. At length, notwithstanding edl opposition made by the to- 
ries, every article of the union was approved by a great majority 
in both parliaments. 

44. Thus all were obliged to acquiesce in an union of which 
they at tirst had not the sagacity to distinguish the advantages 

45. In the mean time the whig ministry was every day de- 
clining. Among the number of those whom the duchess of iMarlbo- 
rough had introduced to the queen to contribute to her private 
amusement, was one Mrs. Marsham, her own iiins woman, whom 
she had raised from indigence and obscurit}'. 

46. The duchess having gained the ascendant over the queen, 
became petulant and insolent, relaxed in those arts by which she 
had risen ; Mrs. Marsham, who had her fortune to make, was 
more humble and assiduous, she Haltered the foibles of the queen, 
assented to her prepossessions and prejudices. 

47. She soon saw the queen's iticlination to the tory set of 
opinions, their divine right and passive obedience ; and instead 
of attempting to thwart her, as the duchess had done, she joined 
in with her partiality, and even outwent her in her own ^^dy. 

48. This lady was in fact the tool of Mr. Harley, secretary of 
state, who also some time before had insinuated himself into the 
queen's good graces, and who determined to sap the credit of the 
whig ministers. His aim was to unite the tory interest under his 
own shelter, and to expel the whigs from the advantages which 
they had long enjoyed under government. 

49. In his career of ambition he chose for his coadjutor Henry 
St. John, afterwards the famous lord Bolinbroke, a man of great 
eloquence, and greater ambition, enterprisiugj restless, active, 
and haughty, with some wit, and little principle. To tnis junto 
was added sir Simon Harcourt, a lawyer, a man of great abilities. 

60. It was now perceived that the people themselves began to 
be weary of the whig ministry, whom they formerly caressed. 
To them they imputed the burdens under which they groane^, 
burdens which they had been hitherto animated to bear by the 
pomp of triumph ; but the load of which they felt in a pause of 
success. 

61. Harley, afterwards known by the title of lord Oxford, was 
at the bottom of all these complaints ; and though they did not 
produce an immediate effect, yet they did not fail of a growing 
and steady operation. 

52. At length the whig part of the ministry opened their eyes 



200 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 33. 

to the intrigues of the tories. But it was now too late, they had 
entirel}^ lost the confidence of the queen. 

63. Hurley soon threw off the mask of frendship, and took 
more vigorous measures for the prosecution of his design. In 
him the queen reposed all her trust, though he had now no visi- 
ble concern in the administration. The first triumph of the 
tories, in which the queen discovered a public partiahty in their 
favour, was seen in a transaction of no great importance in itself, 
but from the consequences it produced. 

54. The parties of the nation were eager to engage, and they 
wanted but the watch-word to begin. This was given by a man 
neither of abilities, property, nor povver ; but accidentally 
brought forward on this occasijn. 

55. Henry Sacheverel was a clergyman bred at Oxford, of 
narrow intellects, and an overheated imagination. He had ac- 
quired some popularity atnong those who distinguished them- 
selves by the name of high churchmen, and had taken all occa- 
sions to vent his animosity a<^;;ainst the dissenters. At the sum- 
mer assizes at Derby, he held forth in that strain before the 
judges. 

56. On the fifth of November, in St. Paul's church, he, in a 
violent declamation, defended the doctrmes of non-resistance, 
inveighed against the toleration of dissenters, declared the 
church was dangerously attacked by its enemies, and slightly 
defended by its false friends. 

57. He sounded the trumpet for the zealots, and exhorted 
the people to put on the whole armour of God. Sir Samuel 
Gerrard, lord mayor, countenanced this harangue, which though 
very weak both in the matter and style, was published under 
jiis protection, and extolled by the tories as a master piece of 
writing. These sermons owed all their celebrity to the com- 
plexion of the times, and they are now deservedly neglected. 

58. Mr. Dolben son to the archbishop of York, laid a com- 
plaint before the house of commons, against these rhapsodies, 
and thus gave force to what would have soon been forgotten. 
The most violent paragra})hs were read, and the sermons voted 
scandalous and seditious libels. 

59. Sacheverel was brought to the bar of the house, and he, 
far from disowning the writing of them, gloried in what he had 
done, and mentioned the encouragement he had received to 
publish them from the lord mayor, who was then present. 

60. Being ordered to withdr-.w, it was resolved to impeach 
him of high crimes and misdemeanors, at the bar of the house of 
lords, and Mr. Dolben was fixed upon to conduct the prosecu- 
tion, in the name of the commons of England. A committee 
was appointed to draw up articles of impeachment j Sacheverel 



Ghap. 33. ANNE. 201 

was taken into custody, and a day was appointed for his trial, 
before tlie lords in Westminster hall. 

61. The eyes of the whole kingdom were turned upon this 
very extraordinary trial, which lasted three weeks, and exclud- 
ed all other public b isiness for the time. The queen herself 
was every day present, as a private spectator, while vast multi- 
tudes attended the cv Iprit every day as he went to the hall, 
shouting as he passed, or silently praying for his success. 

62. The managers for the commons were sir Joseph Jekyl, 
Mr. Eyre, solicitor general, sir Peter King, recorder, general 
Stanhope, sir Thomas Parker, and Mr. VValpole. The doctor 
was defended by sir Simon Harcourt and Mr. Phipps, and as- 

isted by doctor Atterbury, doctor Smallridge and doctor Friend. 

63. While the trial coutinned, nothing could exceed the vio- 
lence and outrage of the populace. They surrounded the queen's 
sedan, exclaiming, '-' God bless your majesty and the church ; 
^ve hope your majesty is for doctor Sacheverel." 

64. They destroyed several meeting-houses, plundered the 
hvellings of many eminent dissenters, and even proposed to at- 
tack the bank. The queen, in compliance with the request of 
^he commons, published a proclamation for suppressing the tu- 
mults, and several persons being apprehended, were tried for 
nigh treason ; two were convicted and sentenced to die, but nei- 
ther suffered. 

65. When the commons had gone through their charge, the 
managers for Sacheverel undertook his defence with great art 
md eloquence. He afterwards recited a speech himself, which 
Tom the difference found between it ami his sermons, seems 
evidently the work of another. In this he solemnly justified his 
intentions towards the queen and her government. 

66. He spoke in tiie most respectful terms of the revolution, 
md the protestant succession. He maintained the doctrine of 
ion-resistance as a tenel of the church, in which he was brought 
ip ; and in a pathetic conclusion endeavoured to excite the 
bity of his audience. 

1 67. At length, after much obstinate dispute, and virulent al- 
ercation, Sacheverel was found guilty, by a majority of seven- 
een voices ; but no less than four-and-thirty peers entered a 
notest against this decision. 

68. He was prohibited from preaching for three years, and 
lis two sermons were ordered to be burned by the hands of the 
:ommon hangman, in presence of the lord mayor and the two 
heriffs. The lenity of this sentence, which was, in a great 
neasure, owing to the dread of popular resentment, was coo- 
lidered by the tories as a triumph. 

69. Such was the complexion of the times, when the queen 

12 



i^2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 33 

thought proper to summon a new parhament ; and being a friend 
to the tories herself, she gave the people an opportunity of in 
dulging themselves in choosing represntatives to their mind. 
In fcict, very few were returned but such as had distinguished 
themselves by their zeal against the whig administration. 

70. In the mean time the campaign in Flanders was conduct- 
ed with the most brilliant success. The duke of Marlborough 
had every motive to continue the war, as it gratified not only his 
ambition, but his avarice ; a passion that obscured his shining 
abihties. 

71. The king of France appeared extremely desirous of a 
peace, and resolved to solicit a conference. He employed one 
Fetkum, resident of the duke of Holstein at the Hague, to nego- 
tiate upon this subject, and he ventured also to solicit the duke 
himself in private. 

72. A conference was at length begun at Gertuydenburgh, 
under the influence of Marlborough, Eugene, and Zinzendorf, 
who were all three, from private motives averse to the treaty 
Upon this occasion, the French ministers were subjected t( 
every species of mortification. Spies were placed upon theii 
conduct. Their master was insulted, and their letters were} 
opened, till at last Lewis resolved to hazard another campaign. 

73. It was only by insensible degrees that the queen seeme( 
to acquire courage enough to second her inclinations, and depose] 
a ministry that had long been disagreeable to her. 

74. Harley, however, who still shared her confidence,, did" 
not fail to inculcate the popularit}^ the justice, the security of 
such a measure ; and in consequence of his advice she began the 
changes, by transferring the post of lord chamberlain from the 
duke of Kent to the duke of Shrewsbury ; who had lately voted 
with the tories, and maintained an intimate correspondence with 
Mr. Harley. 

75. Soon after the earl of Sunderland, secretary of state, 
and son-in-law to the duke of Marlborough, was displaced, and 
the earl of Dartmouth put in his room. Finding that she was 
rather applauded than condemned for this resolute proceeding 
she resolved to become entirely free. 

76. Soon after, the earl of Godolphin was divested of his of- 
fice, and the treasury put in commission, subjected to the direc* * 
tion of Harley, who was appointed chancellor of the exchequer, i 
and under-treasurer. 

77. The earl of Rochester was declared president of the 
council in the room of lord Somers. The staff of lord steward 
being taken from the duke of Devonshire was given to the duke 
of Buckingham ; and Mr. Boyle was removed from the secreta-- 
ry's office to make way for Mr. Henry St. John. 



Chap. 33. ANNE 203 

78. The lord chancellor having resigned the great seal it was 
first put in commission, and then given to sir Simon llarcourt. 
The earl of Wharton surrendered his commission of lord lieu 
tenant of Ireland, and that employment was conferred upon the 
'hike of Ormond. 

79. Mr. George Granville was appointed secretary at war in 
the room of Mr. Robert Walpole, and in a word, there was 

jnot ene whig left in any office of state, except the duke of Marl- 
borough, lie was still continued the reluctant general of the 
army ; but he justly considered himself as a ruin entirely un- 
dermined, and just ready to fall. 

80. But the triumph was not yet complete, until the parlia- 
ment was brought to confirm and approve the queen's choice. 
The queen in her speech recommended the prosecution of the 
war with vigour. The parliament were ardent in their expres- 
sions of zeal and unanimity. They exhorted her to discounte- 
nance all such principles and measures as had lately threatened 
I her royal crown and dignity. 

81. This was but an opening to v.'bat soon after followed. 
The duke of Marlborough, who biit a few months before had 
been so highly extolled and caressed by the representatives ot 
the people, was now become the object of their hatred and re- 
proach. His avarice was justly upbraided; his protracting the 
war was said to arise from that motive. Instances were everv 
where given of his fraud and extortion. These might be true, 
but party had no moderation, and even his courage and conduct 
were called in question. 

, 82. To mortify the duke still more, the thanks of the house 
of commons were voted to the earl of Peterborough for his ser- 
vices in Spain, when they were refused to the duke for those in 
Flanders : and the lord keeper, v.'ho delivered them to Peter- 
borough, took occasion to drop some reflections against the mer- 
icenary disposition of his rival. 

83. Nothing now, therefore, remained of the whig system, 
upon which this reign was begun, but the war, which continued 
to rage as fierce as ever, and which increased in expense every 
year as it went on. 

84. It was the resolution of the present ministry to put an 
end to it at any rate, as it had involved the nation in debt almost 
to bankruptcy ; and as it promised, instead of humbling the ene- 
my only to become habitual to the constitution. 

85. It only remained to remove the duke of Marlborough 
from his post, as he would endeavour to traverse all their ne- 
gotiations. But here again a difficulty started, the step could not 
be taken without giving oflence to the Dutch, who placed entire 



204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. S3 

confidence in him ; they were obhged therefore, to wait for 
some convenient occasion. 

86. Upon his return from this campaign, he was accused of 
having taken a bribe of six thousand pounds a year from a Jew, 
who contracted to supply the army with bread ; and the queen 
thought proper to dismiss him from all his employments. This was 
the pretext made use of, though his fall had been predetermined ; 
and though his receiving such a bribe was not the real cause of his 
removal, yet candour must confess that it ought to have been so. 

87. In the meantime Prior, much more famous as a poet 
than a statesman, was sent over with proposals to France ; and 
Menager, a man of no great station, returned with Prior to Lon- 
don, with full powers to treat upon the preliminaries. 

88. The ministry having got thus far, the great difficulty lay 
still before them, of making the terms of peace agreeable to all 
the confederates. The earl of Stalford who had been lately re- 
called from the Hague, where he resided as ambassador, was 
now sent back to Holland, with orders to communicate to the 
pensionary Hensius, the preliminary proposals, to signify the 
queen's approbation of ihem,;trid to propose a place where the 
plenipotentiaries should assemble. 

89. The Dutch were very averse to begin the conference, 
upon the inspection of the preliminaries. They sent over an 
envoy to attempt to dissuade the queen from her resolution, 
but finding their eiforts vain, they fixed upon Utrecht as the 
place of general conference, and they granted passports to the 
French ministers accordingly. 

90. The conference began at Utrecht, under the conduct of 
Robinson, bishop of Bristol, lord privy seal, and the earl of Staf- 
ford, on the side of the English ; of Buys and Vanderdussen on i 
the part of the Dutch ; and of the marshal D'Uxelles, the car- 
dinal Polignac, and Mr. Menager, in behalf of France. The 
ministers of the emperor and Savoy assisted, and the other allies 
sent also plenipotentiaries, though with the utmost reluctance. 
As England and France were the only two powers that were 
seriously inclined to peace, it may be supposed that all the other 
deputies served rather to retard, than advance its progress. 
They met rather to start new dilhculties, and widen the breach, 
than to quiet the dissentions of Europe. 

91. The English ministers, therefore, finding multiplied ob- 
structions from the deliberations of their allies, set on foot a pri- 
vate negotiation with France. They stipulated certain advan- , 
tages for the subjects of Great Britain in a concerted plan of 
peace. They resolved to enter into such mutual confidence 
with the French, as would anticipate all clandestine transactions 
to the prejudice of the coalition. 



Chap. 33. ANNE. 205 

92. In the beginning of August, secretary St. John, . p 
who had been created lord viscount Bolingbroke, was ^Ita 
sent to the court of Versailles, to remove all obstructions 

to the separate treaty. He was accompanied by Mr. Prior and 
the Abbey Gaultier, and treated with the most distinguished 
marks of respect. He was caressed by the French king and 
the marquis de Torey, with whom he adjusted the principal in- 
terests of the duke of Savoy and the elector of Bavaria. 

93. At length the treaties of peace and commerce between 
England and France being agreed on by the plenipotentaries on 
cither side, and ratified by the queen, she acquainted her par- 
liament with the steps she had taken. 

94. The articles of this famous treaty were longer canvassed, 
and more warmly debated than those of any other treaty read of 
in history. The number of different interests concerned, and the 
great enmity and jealousy subsisting between all, made it impos- 
sible that ail could be satisfied ; and indeed there seemed no 
other method of obtaining peace but that which was taken, for 
the two principal powers concerned to make their own articles, 
and to leave the rest for a subject of future discussion. 

95. The first stipulation was, that Philip, now acknowledged 
king of Spain, should renounce all right to the crown of France, 
the union of two such powerful kingdoms being thought danger- 
ous to the liberties of Europe. It was agreed that the duke of 
Berry, Philip's brother, and after him in succession, should also 
renounce his right to the crown of Spain, in case he became 
king of France. It was stipulated that the duke of Savoy should 
possess the island of Sicily, with the title of king, together with 
Fenestrelles and other places on the continent, which increase 
of dominion was in some measure made out of the spoils of the 
French monarchy. 

96. The Dutch had that barrier granted them, which they 
had so long sought after ; and if the crown of France was de- 
prived of some dominions to enrich the duke of Savoy, on the 
other hand the house of Austria was taxed to supply the wants of 
the Hollanders, who Vv^ere put in possession of the strongest 
towns in Flanders. With regard to England, its glory and its 
interests were secured. The fortifications of Dunkirk, an har- 
bour that might be dangerous to their trade in time of war, was 
ordered to be demolished, and its port destroyed, Spain gave 
up all right to Gibralter, and the island of Minorca. 

97. France resigned her pretensions to Hudson's Bay, Nova 
Scotia, and Newfoundland ; but they were left in possession of 
Cape Breton, and the liberty of drying their fish upon the shore. 
Among other articles glorious to the Enghsh nation, the setting 
free the French protestants, confined in the prisons and gallies 



£06 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 33 

for their rehgion, was not the least meritorious. For the empe- 
ror it was stipulated, that he should possess the kingdom of Na- 
ples, the duch}' of Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands. 

98. The king of Prussia was to have Upper Guelder ; and a 
time was fixed for the emperor's acceding to these articles, as 
he had for some time obstinately refused to assist at the nego- 
tiations. Thus Europe seemed to be formed into one great re- 
public, the different members of which were cantoned out to 
the different governors, and the ambition of any one state amena- 
ble to the tribunal of all. Thus it appears that the English minis- 
try did justice to all the world ; but their country denied that 
justice to them. 

99. While the whigs w^ere attacking the tory ministers from 
without, these were in much greater danger from their own in- 
ternal disseniions. Lord Oxford and lord Bolingbroke, though 
they had started with the same principles and designs, yet having 
vanquished other opposcrs, now began to turn their strength 
against each other. Bo,th began to form separate interest, and 
to adopt different principles. 

100. Oxford's plan was the more moderate, Bolingbroke's the 
more vigorous and the more secure. Oxford, it is thought, was en- 
tirely for the Hanover succession ; Bolingbroke had some hopes 
of bringing in the pretender. But though they hated each other 
most sincerely, yet they were for a while kept together by the 
good offices of their friends and adherents, who had the melan- 
choly prospect of seeing the citadel of their hopes while openly 
besieged from without, secretly undermining within. 

101. This was a mortifying prospect to the tories ; but it was 
more particularly displeasing to the queen, who daily saw her 
favourite ministry declining, while hei own decay of health kept 
pace with her contentions. Her constitution was now quite bro- 
ken. One lit of sickness followed another; and what completed 
the ruin of her health was the anxiety of her mind. These 
dissentions had such an effect upon her spirits and constitution^ 
that she declared she could not outhve it, and immediately sunk 
into a state of lethargic insensibility. Nowithstanding all the 
medicines which the physicians could prescribe, the distemper 
. , gained ground so fast, that the day after, they despair- 

17^14 ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^®' ^"^ ^^^ P^^^^ council assembled on the 
occasion. 
102. All the members without distinction, being summoned 
from the different parts of the kingdom, began to provide for the 
security of the constitution. They sent a letter to the elector 
of Hanover, informing him of the queen's desperate situation, 
and desiring him to repair to Holland, where he should be at 
tended with a British scxuadron to convey him to England. 



Chap. 34. GEORGE I. 207 

103. At the same time they despatched instructions to the 
earl of Stafford at the Hague, to de^-ire the states general to be 
ready to perform the guarantee of the protestant succession. 
Precautions were taken to secure the sea ports ; and the com- 
mand of the fleet '.'/as bestowed upon the earl of Berkeley, a 
professed whig, a lese measures, which were all dictated by 
that partes answer -■ a double end. It argued their own alacrity 
in the cause of their new sovereign, and seemed to imply danger 
to the state from the disaffection of the opposite interests. 

1 04. On the thirtieth of July, the queen seemed somewhat re- 
lieved by medicines, rose from her bed about eight o'clock, and 
walked a little. After some time, casting her eyes on a clock 
that stood in her chamber, she continued to gaze at it for some 
minutes. One of the ladies in waiting asked her what she saw 
there more than i« ;al ; which the queen only answered by turn- 
ing her eyes upon her with a dying look. 

105. She was soon after seized v*ith a fit of the apoplexy, she 
continued all night in a state of stupeiliction, and expired the fol- 
lowing morning, in the forty-ninth year of her age. She reigned 
more than twelve years over a people that was now risen to the 
highest pitch of refinement ; that had attained by their wisdom 

•%all the advantages of opulence, and by their valour all the happi- 
ness of security and conquest. 



CHAPTER XXXIV— George I. 

1. Pursuant to the act of succession, George the first, son of 
Ernest Augustus, first el^^ctor of Brunswick, and the princess 
Sophia, grand-daughter to Jam.es the first, ascended the British 
throne. — His mature age, he being now fifty-four years old, his 
sagacity and experience, his numerous aliiances, the general 
tranquillity of Europe, all contributed to establish his interest, 
and to promise him a peaceable and happy reign. His virtues, 

"though not shining, were solid ; was of a very different disposi- 
tion from the Stuart family, which he succeeded. 

2. These were known, to a proverb, for leaving their friends 
in extremity ; George on the contrary, soon after his arrival in 
England, was heard to say, " My maxim is, never to abandon 
my friends. To do justice to all the world, and fear no man." 
To these quahfications of resolution and perseverance, he joined 
great application to business. However, one fault with respect 
to England remained behind ; he studied the interests of those 
subjects he had left, more than those he came to govern. 

3. The queen had no sooner resigned her breath, than the 
privy-council met, 5ind three instruments were produced, by 



208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 34* 

which the elector appointed several of his known adherents to be 
added as lords justices of the seven great offices of the kingdom. 
Prders were immediately issued out for proclaiming George king 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The regency appointed the 
earl of Dorset to carry him the intimation of his accession to the 
crown, and to attend him in his journey to England. They sent 
the general officers, in whom they could contide, to their posts, 
they reinforced the garrison of Portsmouth, and appointed the 
celebrated Mr. Addison, secretary of state. 

4. To mcvtify the late ministry the more, lord Bolingbrokfi 
was obliged to wait every morning in the passage with the ser- 
vants, %vith his bag of papers, where there were persons pur- 
posely placed to insult and deride him. No tumult appeared, no 
commotion arose against the accession of the new king, and this 
gave a strong proof that no rational measures were ever taken 
to obstruct his exaltation. 

5. When he first landed at Greenwich, he was received by 
the duke of Northumberland, captain of the lifeguards, and the 
lords of the regency. When he retired to his bedchamber, he 
then sent for such of the nobility as had distinguished themselves 
b}'^ their zeal for his accession. But the duke of Ormond, the 
lord chancellor, and the lord treasurer, found themselves ex- 
cluded. 

6. The king of a faction is but the sovereign of half his subjects. 
Of this, however, the new elected monarch did not seem sensible. 
It was his misfortune, and consequently that of the nation, that he 
was hemmed round by men, who soured him with all their own 
interests and prejudices. None now but the leaders of a party, 
were admitted into employment. The whigs, while they pre- 
tended to secure the crown for the king, were with all possi- 
ble arts conlirming their own interests, extending tlieir connex- 
ions, and giving laws to their sovereign. 

7. An instantaneous and total change was made in all the 
offices of trust, honour, or advantage. The whigs governed the 
senate and the court ; Avhom they would, they oppressed ; bound 
the lower orders of people with severe laws, and kept them at a 
distance by vile distinctions; and then taught them to call this 
liberty. 

8. These partialities soon raised discontents among the peo- 
ple, and the king's attachment considerably increased the male- 
contents through all the kingdom. The clamour of the churcfi 
being in danger was revived, and the people only seemed to 
want a leader to incite them to insurrection. Birmingham, Bris- 
tol, Norwich, and Reading, still remembered the spirit with 
which they had declared fc r Sacheverel ; and now the cry was, 
down with the whiijs, and Sacheverel for ever. 



GEORGE I. 200 

9. Upon the first meeting of the new parhament, in which 
he whigs, with the king at their head were predomiate, . j^ 
lothing was expected but the most violent measures ^'»^/ 
igainst the late ministry, nor were the expectatations of 
nankind disappointed. 

10. The lords professed their hopes that the king would be 
ble to recover the reputation of the kingdom on the continent, 
he loss of which they affected to deplore. The commons went 
Quch farther ; they declared their resolution to trace out those 
leasures by which the country was depressed ; they resolved 
seek after those abettors on whom the pretender seemed to 
round his hopes ; and they determined to bring such to condign 
unishment. 

11. It was the artifice, during this and the succeeding reign, 
) stigmatize all those who testified their discontent against go- 
ernment, as papists and Jacobites. All who ventured to speak 
gainst the violence of their measures, were reproached as de- 
igning to bring in the pretender ; and most people were conse- 
uently afraid to murmur, since discontent was no near akin to 
^eason. The people, therefore, beheld the violence of the 
onduct in silent fright, internally disapproving, yet not daring to 
vow their detestation. 

12. A comroittee was appointed consisting of twenty persons, 
inspect all the papers relative to the late negotiation for 

eace ; and to pick out such of them as might serve as subjects 
f accusation against the late ministry. After some time spent 
this disquisition, Mr. Walpole, as chairman of the committee 
eclared to the house that a report was drawn up ; and in the 
lean time, moved that a warrant might be issued for apprehending 
[r. Matthew Prior, and Mr. Thomas Harley, who being in the 
buse were immediately taken into custody. 

13. He then impeached lord Bolingbroke of high treason, 
his struck some of the members with amazement ; but they were 
[ill more astonished when lord Conningsby, rising up was heard 

say, " The worthy chairman has impeached the hand, but I 
[ipeach the head ; he has impeached the scholar, and I the mas- 
^r, I impeach Robert earl of Oxford, and earl Mortimer, of high 
eason, and other crimes and misdemeanors." 

14. When lord Oxford appeared in the house of lords the day 
llowing, he was avoided by the peers as infectious ; and he 
ad now an opportunity of discovering the baseness of mankind, 
i'^hcn the articles were read against him in the house of com- 
lons, a warm debate arose upon that in which he was charged 
!ith having advised the French king of the manner of gaining 
'ournay from the Dutch. Mr. Walpole alleged that it was trea- 
)n. Sir Joseph Jekyl, a known whig, said that he never could 



210 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 34. 

be of opinion that it amounted to treason. It was his principle, 
he said, to do justice to all men, to the highest and the lowest. 
He hoped he might pretend to some knowledge of the laws, and 
would ;iot scrnple to declare upon this part of the question in 
favour of the criminal. 

15. To this Walpole answered with great warmth, that there 
were several persons both in and out of the committee, who did 
not in the least yield to that member in point of honesty, and ex- 
ceeded him in the knowledge of the laws, and yet were satisfied 
that the charge in that article amounted to high treason. Thi^ 
point being decided against the earl, and the other articles ap- 
proved by the house, the lord Conningsby, attended by the whig 
members, impeached him soon after at the bar of the house of 
lords, demanding at the same time, that he might lose his seat, ' 
and be committed to custody. 

16. When this point came to be debated in the house of lords, 
a violent altercation ensued. Those who still adhered to the 
deposed minister, maintained the injustice and the danger of '> 
such a proceeding. At last the earl himself rose up, and with 
great tranquillity observed, that for his own part he always 
acted by the immediate direction and command of the queen, his 
mistress ; he had never offended igainst any known law, and was 
unconcerned for the life of an insigiyficant old m;u). 

17. Next day he was brought to the bar, where he received^ 
a copy of his impeachment, and was allowed a month to prepare 
an answer. Though Dr. Mead declared that if the earl should 
be sent to the tower, his life would be in danger, it was carried | 
in the house that he should be committed. 1 

18. At the same time the duke of Ormond and lord Boling- 
broke having omitted to surrender themselves, for they had ac- 
tually fled to the continent, within a limited time, it was ordered 
that the earl marshal should erase out their names and arms 
from among the list of peers, and inventories were taken of their 
estates and possessions, which were declared forfeited to the 
crown. 

19. Lord Oxford being confined in the tower, he continued 
there for two years, during which time the nation was in a con- 
tinual ferment, from an actual rebellion that was carried on suc- 
cessfully. After the execution of some lords who were taken in 
arms, the nation seemed glutted with blood, and that was the 
time that lord Oxford petitioned to be brought to his trial. 

20. He knew that the fury of the nation was spent on ob- 
jects that were really culpable, and expected that his case would 
look like innocence itself, when compared to theirs. A day, 
therefore, at his own request, was assigned him, and the com 
Hions were ordered to prej)are for their charge. At the appoin! 



Chap. 34. GEORGE I. 211 

ed time the peers repaired to the court of Westminster-hall, 
where lord Cowper presided as lord high steward. 

21. But a dispute arising, between the lords and commons 
concerning the mode of his trial, the lords voted that the pri- 
soner should be set at liberty. To this dispute he probably 
owed the security of his title and fortune ; for as to the articles 
importing him guilty of high treason, they were at once malig- 
nant and frivolous, so that his life was in no manner of danger. 

2g. In the mean time these vindictive proceedings excited 
the indignation of the people, who perceived that the avenues 
to royal favour were closed against all but a faction. The flames 
of rebellion were actually liindled in Scotland. The earl of 
Mar assembling three hundred of his own vassal in the high- 
lands, proclaimed the pretender at Castletown, and set up his 
standard at a place called Braemar, assuming the title of lieu- 
tenant-general of his Majesty's forces. 

23. To second these attempts, two vessels arrived in Scot- 
land from France, with arms, ammunition, and a number of officers, 
together with assurances to the earl, that the pretender him- 
self would shortly come over to head his own forces. The 
earl, in consequence of this promise, soon found himself at the 
head of ten thousand men, well armed and provided. 

24. The duke of Argyle apprised of his intentions, and at any 
rate willing to prove his attachment to the present government, 
resolved to give him battle in the neighbourhood of Dumblain, 
though his forces did not amount to hnlfthe number of the ene- 
my. After an engagement which continued several hours, in 
the evening both sides drew off, and each claimed the vic- 
tory. Though neither kept possession -ef the field, yet cer- 
tainly all the honour and all the advantages of the day belonged 
only to the duke of Argyle. It was sufficient for him to have 
interrupted the progress of the enemy ; for in their circum- 
stances delay was defeat. 

25. The earl of Mar soon found his disappointments and his 
losses increase. The castle of Inverness, of which he was in 
possession, was delivered up to the king by lord Lovat, who 
had hitherto professed to act in the interest of the pretender. 
The marquis of Tullibardine forsooK the earl, in order to defend 
his own part of the country ; and many of the clans, seeing no 
likelihood of coming soon to a second engagement, returned 
quietly home ; for an irregular army is much easier led to bat- 
tle than induced to bear the fatigues of a campaign. 

26. In the mean time the rebellion was still more unsuccess- 
fully prosecuted in England. From the time the pretender had 
undertaken this wild project at Paris, in which the duke of Or 
niond and lord Bolinsbroke were engaged, lord Stair, the Eng- 



212 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 34 

lish ambassador there, had penetrated all his designs, and sent 
faithful accounts of all his measures, and all his adherents to the 
ministry at home. Upon the first rumour, therefore, of an insur- 
rection, they imprisoned several lords and gentlemen, of whom 
they had a suspicion. 

27. The earls of Hume, Wintown, and Kinnoul, and others, 
were committed to the castle of Edinburgh. The king obtained 
leave from the lower house to seize sir William Wyndham, sir^ 
John Packington, Harvey Combe and others. The lords Lans- 
down and Duplin were taken into custody. Sir William Wynd- 
ham's father-in-law, the duke of Somerset, offered to become f 
bound for his appearance, but his surety was refjised. 

28. Bui all these precautions were not able to stop the insur- 
rection in the western counties, where it was already begun. ; 
However, ail their preparcitions were weak and ill-conducted ;; 
every measure was betrayed to government as soon as project- J 
ed, and many revolts repressed in the very outset. The uni-' 
versity at Oxford was treated with great severit}' on this occa- 
sion. Miijor-general Pepper, with a «trong detachment of dra- 
goons, took possession of the city at day break, declaring he 
would instantl} shoot any of the students who should presume « 
to appear witliout the limits of their respective colleges. The m 
insurrection in the northern counties came to greater maturity. 1 

29. In the month of October the earl of Derwentwater and 
* 1^ Mr. Forster, took the field with a body of horse, and 
J * ^ * being joined by some gentlemen from the borders of'Scot- 

laiid, proclaimed the pretender. Their first attempt „ 
was to seize upon Newcastle, in which they had many friends, ] 
but they found the gates shut against them, and were obliged to ' 
retire to Hexham. To oppose these, general Carpenter was 
detached by government with a body of nine hundred men, and 
an engagement was hourly expected. 

30. The rebels had proceeded by the way of Kendal and Lan- ' 
caster to Preston, of which place they took possession without 
any resistance. But this was the last stage of their ill-advised 
incursion ; for general Wills at the head of seven thousand men, ' 
came up to the town to attack them, and from his activit}/ there 
was no escaping. They now, therefore, began to raise barri- 
cadoes, and to put the place in a posture of defence, repulsing 
the first attack of the royal army with success. Next day, how- 
ever, Wills was reinforced by Carpenter, and the town was in- 
vested on all sides. 

31. In this deplorable situation, to which they were reduced 
by their own rashness, Forster hoped to capitulate with the 
general, and accordingly sent colonel Oxburg, who had been 
^ken prisoner, with a trumpeter, to propose a capitulation* 



Ghap. 34. GEORGE I. 213 

This, however, WiJb refused, alleging that he would not treat 
with rebels, and ^\i<\t the only favour they had to expect was to 
be spared fi^ia immediate slaughter. These were hard terms, 
but no better could be obtained. 

32. They accordingly laid down their arms, and were put 
under a strong guard ; all the noblemen and leaders were se- 
cured, and a few of their officers tried for deserting from the roy- 
al army, and shot by order of a court martial. The common 
men were imprisoned at Chester and Liverpool ; the noblemen 
and considerable officers were sent to London, and led through the 
streets, pinioned and bound together, to intimidate their party. 

33. The pretender might by this time have been convinced 
of the vanity o^ his expectations, in supposing that the whole 
country would rise up in his cause. His affairs were actually 
desperate : yet, with his usual infatuation, he resolved to hazard 
his person among his friends in Scotland, at a time when such a 
measure was too late for success. Passing, therefore, through 
France, in disguise, and embarking in a small vessel at Dunkirk, 
he arrived, after a voyage of a few days, on the coast of Scot- 
land, and with only six gentlemen in his train. 

34. He passed unknown through Aberdeen to Feteresso, 
where he was met by the earl of Mar, and about thirty noblemen 
and gentlemen of the first quality. There he was solemnly pro- 
claimed. His declaration dated at Commercy, was printed and 
dispersed. He went from thence to Dundee, where he made a 
public entry, and in two days more he arrived at Scoon, where 
he intended to have the ceremony of his coronation performed. 

35. He ordered thanksgivings to be made for his safe arrival; he 
enjoined the ministers to pray for him in their churches ; and with- 
out the smallest share of pov/er, went throngh the ceremonies of 
royalty, which threw an air of ridicule on all his conduct. Having 
thus spent some time in unimportant parade, he resolved to abandon 
the enterprise with the same levity with which it was undt^rtaken. 

36. Having made a speech to his grand council, he informed 
them of his want of money, arms, and ammunition, for undertak- 
ing a campaign, and therefore deplored that he was compelled 
to leave them. He once more embirked on board a small French 
ship that lay in the harbor of Montrose, accompanied with seve- 
ral lords, his adherents, and in five days arrived at Graveline. 

37. In this manner ended a rebellion which nothing but im- 
becility could project, and nothing but rashness could support. 
But though the enemy was now no more, the fury of the victors 
did not seem in the least to abate with success. The law was 
now put in force with all its terrors, and the prisons of Londoia 
were crowded with those deluded wretches, whom the miaistry 
seemed resolved not to pardon. 



214 HISTORY OF ENGLAND^ Chap. 34. 

38. The commons in their address to the crown declared they, 
would prosecute, in the most rigorous manner, the authors of 
the late rebellion. In consequence of which the earls of Der- 
wentwater, Nithisdale, Carnwarth, and Wintown ; the lordi, 
Widrington, Kenmuir, and Nairne were impeached, and upon 
pleading guilty, all but lord Wintown received sentence oideath. 
No entreaties could soften the ministry to spare these unhappy 
men. 

39. Orders were despatched for executing the lords Derwent- 
water, Nithisdale, and Kenmuir immediately; the rest were 
respited to a farther time. Nithisdale, however, had the good 
fortune to escape in women's clothes, which were brought him 
by his mother, the night before his execution. Derwentwater 
and Kenmuir were brought to the scaftbld on Tower hill at the 
time appointed. Both underwent their sentence with calm in- 
trepidity , pitied by all, and seemingly less moved themselves than 
those who beheld them. 

40. In the beginning of April, commissioners for trying the 
rebels met in the court of common pleas, when the bills were 
found against Mr. Forster, Mr. Mackintosh, and twenty of their , 
confederates. 'i 

41. Forster escaped from Newgate, and reached the continent 
in safety, the rest pleaded not guilty. Pitts, the keeper of New- 
gate, being suspected of having connived at Forster's escape, 
was tried for his life, but acquitted. Yet notwithstanding this, 
Mackintosh and several other prisoners broke from Newgate, 
after having mastered the keeper and turnkey, and disarmed the j 
sentinel. The court proceeded to the trial of those that re- ^ 
mained ; four or five were hanged, drawn, and quartered at Ty- ) 
burn ; twenty-two were executed at Preston and Manchester ; 
and about a thousand prisoners experienced the king's mercy, if 
such it may be called, to be transported to North America. 

42. A rupture with Spain, which ensued some time after, serv- 
ed once more to raise the declining expectations of the preten- 
der and his adherents. It was hoped, that by the assistance of 
cardinal Alberoni, the Spanish minister, a new insurrection 
might be excited in England. The duke of Ormond was the 
person fixed upon to conduct tliis expedition ; and he obtained 
from the Spanish court a fleet often ships of war and transports, 
having on board six thousand regular troops, with arms for twelve 
thousand more. But fortune was still as unfavourable as ever. 

43. Having set sail, and proceeded as far as cape Finisterre, 
he was encountered by a violent storm, which disabled his fleet, 
and frustrated the expedition. This misfortune, together with 
the bad success of the Spanish arms in Sicily, and o:her parts of 
Europe, induced Philip to wish for peace ; and he at last oon 



Chap. 34. GEORGE I. 215 

sented to sign the quadruple alliance. This was at that time 
thought an immense acquisition, but England, though she pro- 
cured the ratification, had no share in the advantage of the treaty. 

44. It was about this time that one John Law, a Scotch- . ^^ 
man, had cheated France, by erecting a company under /«q/ 
the name of the Mississippi, which promised that deluded 
people great wealth, but which ended in involving the French 
nation in great distress. It was now that the people of Eng- 
land were deceived by a project entirely similar, which is re- 
membered by the name of the South sea scheme, and which was 
felt long after by thousands. 

45. To explain this as concisely as possible, it is to be observ- 
ed, that ever since the revolution under king William, the govern- 
ment not having sufficient supplies granted by parliament, or 
what was granted, requiring time to be collected, were obliged 
to borrow money from several different companies of merchants, 
and among the rest, from that company which traded to the 
South sea. The South sea company having made up the debt 
due to them by government, ten millions ; instead of six hundred 
thousand pounds, which they usually received as interest, were 
satisfied witii five hundred thousand. 

46<. It was in this situation of things that one Blount, who had 
been bred a scrivener, and was possessed of all the cunning and 
plausibility requisite for such an undertaking, proposed to the 
ministry, in the name of the South sea company, to buy up all 
the debts of the difterent companies of merchants, and thus tQ 
become sole creditor of the stale. ^ 

47. The terms he oifered to government were extremely ad- 
vantageous. The South sea company was to redeem the debts 
of the nation out of the hands of the private proprietors, who 
were creditors to the government, upon whatever terms they 
could agree on ; and for the interest of this money, v/hich they 
had thus redeem.ed, and taken into their own hands, they would 
be contented to be allowed by government, for six years, five 
per cent, then the interest should be reduced to four per cent, 
and should at any time be redeemable by parliament. 

48. But now came the part of the scheme big with fraud and 
ruin. As the directors of the South sea company could not of 
themselves be supposed to possess money sufficient to pay up the 
debts of the nation, they were empowered to raise it by opening 
a subscription to a scheme for trading in the South seas, from 
which commerce, immense ideal advantages were promised by 
the cunning directors, and still greater expected by the rapacious 
credulity of the people. All people, therefore, who were cre- 
ditors to government, were invited to come in and exchange theii 
stock for that of the South sea company. 



216 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 34. 

49. The director's books were no sooner opened for the first 
subscription, but crowds came to make the exchange of their 
other stock for South sea stock. The delusion was artfully con- 
tinued and spread. Subscriptions in a few days sold for double 
the price they had been bought at. The scheme succeeded 
even beyond the projector's hopes, and the whole nation was 
infected with a spirit of avaricious enterprise. The infatuation 
prevailed ; the stock increased to a surprising degree, and to 
near ten times the value of what it was first subscribed ibr. 

50. After a few months, however, the people waked from 
their dream of riches, and found that all the advantages they ex- 
pected were merely imaginary, while thousands of families were 
involved in one common ruin. 

51. The principal delinquents were punished by parliament, 
with a forfeiture of all such possessions and estates as they had 
acquired during the continuance of this popular phrenzy, and 
some care was also taken to redress the sufferers. 

52. The discontents occasioned by these public calamities 
once more gave the disaffected party hopes of succeeding. But 
in all their councils they were weak, divided, and wavering. 

53. The first person who was seized upon suspicion was Fran- 
cis Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, a prelate long obnoxious to 
the present government, and possessed of abilities to render him 
formidable to any minisLry he opposed. His papers were seized, 
and he himself confined to the Tower. Soon after the duke of 
Norfolk, the earl of Orrery, the lords North and Grey, and some 
others of inferior rank, were arre<«ted and imprisoned. Of all 
these, however, onl}^ the bishop, who was banished, and one Mr. 
Layer, who was hanged at Tyburn, felt the severity of govern- 
ment, the proofs against the rest amounting to no convictive evi- 
dence. 

54. The commons about this time finding many abuses had 
crept into the court of chancery, which either impeded justice, 
or rendered it venal, they resolved to impeach the chancellor, 
Thomas earl of Macclesfield, at the bar of the house of lords, 
for high crimes and misdemeanors. This was one of the most 
laborious and best contested trials in the annals of England. 

55. The trial lasted twenty days. The earl proved that the 
sums he received for the sale of places in chancery, had been 
usually received by former lord chancellors, and reason told that 
such leceipts were contrary to strict justice. Equity, there- 
fore, prevailed above precedent ; the earl was convicted of frau- 
dulent practices, and condemned to pay a fine of thirty thousand 
pounds, with imprisonment until that sum should be paid, which 
was accordingly discharged in about six weeks. 

66. In this manner, the corruption, venality, and avarice of 



Chap. 35. GEORGE II 21 

the times had increased with the riches and luxury of the nation 
Commerce introduced fraud, and wealth introduced prodigality. 

57. It must be owned that the parliament made some new ef 
forts to check the progress of vice and immorality, which now 
began to be diffused through every rank of life. But they were 
supported neither by the co-operation of the ministry, nor the 
voice of the people. 

58. It was now two years since the king had visited his elec- 
toral dominions of Hanover. He, therefore, soon after the break- 
ing up of the parliament, prepared for a journey thither. Hav- 
ing appointed a regency in his absence, he embarked for Hol- 
lamd, and lay, upon his landing, at a little town called , y. 
Voet. Next day he proceeded on his journey, and in two /rrg^' 
days more, between ten and eleven at night, arrived at 
Delden, to all appearance in perfect health. He supped there 
very heartily, and continued his progress early next morning, 
but between ^ight and nine ordered his coach to stop. 

69. It being perceiA'ed that one of hi^^ hands lay motionless, 
Monsieur Fab rice, who had formerly been servant to the king 
of Sweden, and who now attended king George, attempted to 
quicken the circulation, by chaffing it between his own. As this 
had no effect, the surgeon who followed on horseback was called, 
and he also rubbed it with spirits. Soon after the king's tongue 
began to swell, and he had just strength enough to bid them has- 
ten to Osnaburgh. Then falling insensible into Fabrice's arms, 
he never recovered, but expired about eleven o'clock the nest 
morning, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and thirteenth of 
his reign. 



CHAPTER XXXV.— George II. 

1. Upon the death of George the first, his son, George the 
econd, came to the crown ; a man of inferior abilities to the late 
iing, and strongly biassed with a partiality to his dominions on 
he continent. The chief person, and he who shortly after en- 
grossed the greatest share of power under him, was sir Robert 
rValpole, who had risen from low beginnings through two suc- 
:essive reigns, into great consideration. He was considered as 

martyr to his cause, in the reign of queen Anne ; and when 
he tory party could no longer oppress him, he still preserved 
hat hatred against them with which he. set out. 

2. To defend the declining prerogative of the crown, might 
>erhaps have been the first object of his attention ; but soon after, 
hose very measures by which he pretended to secure it, prov- 
d the most effectual means to lessen it. By corrupting the 



218 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35. 

house of commons he increased their riches and their power, and 
they were not averse to voting away those millions which he 
permitted them so liberally to share. As such a tendency in 
him naturally produced opposition I ^c was possessed of a most 
phlegmatic insensibility to repvoacn, and a calm, dispassionate 
manner of reasoning upon such topics as he desired should 
be delivered. His discourse was fluent, but without dignity 3 
and his manner convincing from its apparent want of art. 

3. The Spaniards were the first nation who showed the futili- 
ty of tlie treaties of the former reign, when any advantage was 
to be procured by their infraction. The j>eople of our West 
India islands had long caiTied on an illicit trade with the subjects 
of Spain upon the continent ; but, whenever detected, were 
rigorously punished, and the cargoes confiscated to the crown. 
In this temerity of adventure on the one hand, and vigilance of 
pursuit and punishment on the other, it must often have happen- 
ed that tiie innocent suffered with the guilty, and many com- 
plaints were made, perhaps founded in justice, that the Enghsh 
merchants were plundered by the Spanish king's vessels upon 
the southern coasts of America, as if they had been pirates. 

4. The English ministry, unwilling to credit every report, 
which was inflamed by resentment, or urged by avarice, expect- 
ed to remedy the evils complained of, by their favourite S3^stem 
of treaty : and in the mean time })romised the nation redress. 
At length, however, the complaints became more general ; alid 
the merchants remonstrated, by petition, to the house of com- 
mons, who entered into a deliberation on the subject. 

5. They examined the evidence of several who bad been un- 
justly seized, and treated with great cruelty. One man, the 
master of a trading v^ssp' ^lad been used l^ the Spaniards in 
the most allocking manner ; he gave in his evidence with great 
precision, informed the house of the manner they had plundered 
and stripped him, of their cutting off his ears, and their prepar- 
ing to put him to death. '' I thrn looked up," cried he, " to my 
God for pardon, and to my country for revenge.'^ 

6. These accounts raised a fiame among the people, which 
it was neither the minister's interest, nor perhaps that of the 
nation to indulge ; new negociations were set on foot, and new- 
mediators offered their interposition. A treaty was signed at 
Vienna, between the emperor, the king of Great Britain, and the 
king of Spain, which settled the peace of Europe upon its former- 
footing, and put off the threatened war for a time. By this treaty 
the king of England conceived hopes that all war would 
be at an end. Don Carlos, upon the death of the duke of 
Parma, was, by the assistance of an English fleet, put in peace- 
able possession of Parma and Placentia, while six thousand 



'i Cliap. 35. GEORGE II. 219 

Spaniards were quietly adiuitted, and quartered in the dutchy 
of Tuscany, to secure for him the reversion of that dukedom. 

7. An interval of peace succeeded, in which scarce an}^ events 
happened, that deserve the remembrance of a historian. Dur- 
ing this interval of profound peace, nothing remarkable happen- 
ed, and scarce any contest ensued except in the British parlia- 
ment where the disputes between the court and country party 
were carried on with unceasing animosity. 

8. A society of men in this interested age of seeming benevo- 
lence, had united themselves into a company, by the name . p. 
of the Charitable Corporation ; and their professed inten- ^^o/ 
tion was to lend money at legal interest to the poor, upon 
small pledges, and to persons of higher rank upon proper secu- 
rity. Their capital was at first limited to thirty thousand pounds, 
but they afterwards increased it to six hundred thousand. 

9. This money was supplied by subscription, and the care of 
conducting the capital wns entrusted to a proper number of di- 
rectors. This company having continued for more than twenty 
years, the cashier, George Robinson, member from Marlow, and 
fhe warehouse-keeper, .John Tliompson, disappeared in one day. 
Five hundred thousand pounds of capital was found to be sunk 
and embezzled by means which the proprietors could not dis- 
cover. They, therefore, in a petition, represented to the house 
the manner in which they Iiiid been defrauded, and the distress 
to which many of the petitioners were reduced. 

10. A secret committee being appointed to examine into this 
grievance, a most iniquitous scene of fraud was soon discovered, 
which had been carried on by Robinson and Thompson, in con- 
cert with some of the directors, lor embezzling the capital and 
cheating the proprietors. Many persons of rank and quality 
were concerned in this infamous conspiracy ; and even some of 
the first characters of the nation did not escape censure. A 

\ spirit of avarice and rapacity had infected every rank of hfe about 
this time ; no less than six members of parliament were expelled 
for the most sordid acts of knavery. 

n. Sir Robert Sutton, sir Archibald Grant, and George 
Robinson, for their frauds in the management of the Charitable 
Corporation scheme ; Dennis Bond, and serjeant Burch, for a frau- 
dulent sale of the late unfortunate earl of Derwentwater's large 
estate, and lastly, John Ward of Hackney, for forgery. Luxury 
had given birth to prodigality, and that was the parent of the 
meanest arts of peculation. It was asserted in the house of lords 
at that time, that not one shilling of the forfeited estates was ever 
applied to the service of the public, but became the reward of 
fraudulence and venality. 



220 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3d 

L T\ 12 A schemo set on foot by sir Robert Walpole, soon 
1709 * after engrossed the attention of the public, which was to 
fix a general excise. 

13. The minister introduced it into the house, by going into 
a detail of the frauds practised by the factors in London who 
were employed by the American planters in selling their tobacco. 
To prevent these frauds he proposed, that instead of having the 
customs levied in the usual manner upon tobacco, all hereafter 
to be imported should be lodged in warehouses appointed for that 
purpose by the officers of the crown, and should from thence be 
sold, upon paying the duty of four-pence a pound, when the pro- 
prietor found a purchaser. 

14. This proposal raised a violent ferment, not less within 
doors than without. It was asserted that it would expose the 
factors to such hardships that they would be unable to continue 
their trade, and that such a scheme would not even prevent the 
frauds complained of It was added, that a number of additional 
excisemen and warehouse-keepers would thus be employed, 
which would at once render the ministry formidable, and the 
people dependent. 

15. Such were the arguments made use of to stir up the citi- 
zens to oppose this law ; arguments rather specious than solid, 
since, with all its disadvantages, the tax upon tobacco would thus 
be more safely and expeditiously collected, and the avenues to 
numberless frauds would be shut up. The people, however, 
were raised into such a ferment, that the parliamant house was 
surrounded with multitudes, who intimidated the ministry, and 
compelled them to drop the design. The miscarriage of the bill 
was celebrated with public rejoicing in London and Westminster, 
and the minister was burned in eiligy by the populace of London. 

16. Ever since the treaty of Utrecht, the Spaniards in Ame- 
rica had insulted and distressed the commerce of Great Britain, 
and the British merchants had attempted to carry on an illicit 
trade in their dominions. A right which the English merchants 
claimed by treaty, of cutting logwood in the bay of Campeachy, 
gave them frequent opportunities of pushing in contraband com- 
modities upon the continent ; so that to suppress the evil, the 
Spaniards were resolved to annihilate the claim. This liberty 
of cutting logwood had often been acknowledged, but never 
clearly ascertained ; in all former treaties, it was considered as 
an object of too little importance to make a separate article in 
any negotiation. 

17. The Spanish vessels appointed for protecting the coast, 
continuing their severities on the English, many of the subjects 
of Britain were sent to dig in the mines of Potosi, and deprived 
of all means of conveying their complaints to those who might 



Ghap. 35. GEORbi^ i . 22 

servi them redress. One remonstrance followed another to the 
court of Madrid on this violation of treaty ; but the only answer 
given were promises of inquiry, which produced no relbrmation. 
Our merchants complained loudly of those outrages ; but the 
mmister vainly expected from negotiation that redress which 
Wcis only to be obtained by nnns. 

18. The fears discovered by the court of Great Britain, only- 
served to increase the insolence of the enemy, and their guard 
ships continued to seize not only the guilty but the innocent, 
whom they found sailing along the Spanish main. At last, how- 
ever, the complaints of the English merchants were loud e.iough 
to interest the house of commons ; their letters and memorials 
were produced, and their grievances enforced by council at the 
bar of the house. — It was soon found that the money which Spain 
had agreed to pay to the court of Great Britain was v/ithheld, 
and no reason assigned for the delay. The minister, therefore, 
to gratify the general ardour, and atone for his former deficien- 
cies, assured the house that he would put the nation in a condi- 
tion for war. 

19. Soon after, letters of reprisal v/ere granted against the 
♦Spaniards, and this being on both sides considered as an actual 
commencement of hostilities, both diligently set forward their 
armaments both by sea and land. In this threatening situation, the 
French minister at the Hague declared that his master was oblig- 
ed by treaty to assist the king of Spam ; so that the alliances, 
which but twenty years before had taken place, were now quite 
reversed. At that time France and England Avere combined 
against Spain ; at present France and Spain were united against 
England ; so little hopes can statesmen place upon the firmest 
treaties, where there is no superior power to compel the ob- 
servance. 

20. A rupture between England and Spain being now become 
unavoidable, the people who had long clamoured for a war, be- 
gan to feel uncommon alacrity at its approach ; and the ministry 
finding it inevitable, began to be as earnest in preparation. Orders 
were .issued for augmenting the land forces, and raising u . y. 
body of marines. War was declared with all proper so- ^«qq 
lemnity, and soon after two rich Spanish prizes v/ere ta- 
ken in the Mediterranean. 

21. Admiral Vernon, a man of more courage than experience, 
of more confidence than skill, was sent commander of a fleet into 
the West Indies, to distress the enemy in that part of the globe. 
He had asserted in the house of commons that Forto Bello, a fort 
and harbour in South America, could be easily destroyed and 
that he himself would undertake to reduce it with six ships only 

22. A project which appeared so wild and impossible was ri 



222 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

dicu]ed by the ministry ; but as he still insisted upon the propo- 
sal, theycomphed with his request ; but hoping that his want of 
success might repress the coniidence of his party. In this, how- 
ever, they were disappointed ; for with six ships only he attacked 
and demolished all the ibrtifications of that place, and came away 
victorious, with scarce the loss of;* man. This victory was mag- 
nified at home in all the strains of panegyric ; and the triumph 
M;'as far superior to the value of the conquest. 

23. While vigorous preparations were making in other de- 
partments, a squadron of ships was equipped for distressing the 
enemy in the South seas, the command of which, was given to 
commodore Anson. This licet was destined to sail through the 
straits of Magellan, and steering northward along the coasts of 
Chili and Peru ; to co-operate occasionally with admiral Ver- 
non across the Isthmus of Darien. The delays and mistakes of 
the n.inistry frustrated that part of the scheme which was origi- 
nally well laid. When it was too late in the season, the commo- 
dore set out with hve ships of the line, a frigate and two store 
ships, with about fourteen iiandred men. 

24. Having reached the coasts of Brazil, he refreshed his men 
for some time on the island of St. Catharine, a spot that enjoys 
all the fruitfulness and verdure of the luxurious tropical climate. 
From thence he steered do^vnwards into tiie cold and tempestu- 
ous regions of the south ; and in about live months after, meet- 
ing a terrible tempest, he doubled Cape Horn. By this time 
his fleet was dispersed, and his crew deplorably disabled with 
the scurvy ; so that with muchdifliculty h<^, gained the delightful 
island of Juan Fernandez. There he was joined by one ship» 
and a frigate of seven guns. 

25. From thence advancing northward, he landed on the coast 
of Chili, and attacked the city of Faita by night. In this bold at- 
tempt he made no use of his shipping, nor even disembarked all 
his men ; a few soldiers, favoured by darkness, sufficed to fill the 
whole town with terror and confusion. The governor of the 
garrison and the inhabitants fled on all sides ; accustomed to be 
severe, they expected severity. In tiie mean lime a small body 
of the English kept possession of the town for three days, strip- 
ping it of all its treasures and merchandize to a considerable 
amount, and then setting it on fire. 

26. Soon after, this small squadron advanced as far.as Panama, 
situated on the Isthmus of Darien, on the western side of the great 
American continent. The commodore now placed all his hope 
in taking one of those valuable Spanish ships which trade from 
the Phillipine islands to Mexico. 

27. Not above one or two at most of these immensely rich 
ships went from one continent to the other in a year ; they were 



Chap. 35. GEORGi: 1!. 223 

therefore very large in order to carry a sufficiency of treasure, 
and proportionably strong to defend ; in hopes therefore of meet- 
ing with one of these, the commodore with his Uttle fleet, tra- 
versed the great Facilic ocean ; hut the scarvy once more visit- 
ing his crew, several of his men died, and almost uli were dis- 
abled. 

28. In this exigence having brought all his men into one ves- 
sel, and set hre to the other, he steered for the island of Tinian, 
which lies about Iialf way between the new world and the old. 
In this charming abo(!e he continued for some time, till his m*^ > 
recovered their health, and his ship was relitted for sailing. 

29. Thus refreshed he set forward for China, where he laiti 
in proper stores for once more traversing back that immense 
ocean in which he had just belbre suffered such incrediljle difh- 
culties. Having accordingly taken some Dutch and Indian sail- 
ors on board, he again steered towards America, and at length af- 
ter various toils, discovered the Spanish Galleon he had so long 
ardently expected. This vessel w;js built as vrell for the pur- 
pose of war as for merchandize. It mounted sixty guns, and live 
hundred men, while the crew of the commodore did ^ot amount 
to half that number 

30. However, the victory was on the side of the Englisli, and 
they returned home with their valuable prize, which was esti- 
mated at three hundred and thirteen thousand pounds sterling, 
while the tiiiierent captures that iiadbeen made before amounted 
to as much more. Thus after a voyage of three years, conducted 
with astonishing perseverance and intrepidity, the public sustain- 
ed the loss of a noble ileet ; but a few mdividuals became possess- 
ed of immense riches. 

31. In the mean time, the Englisii conducted other operations 
against the enenjy with amazing activity. When Anson set out, 
it was with a design of acting a subordinate part to a formidable 
armament designed for the coast of New Spain, consisting of 
twenty-nine ships of the line, and almost an equal number of 
frigates, furnished with all kinds of warlike stores, near fifteen 
thousand seamen, and as many land forces. 

32. IS ever was a fleet more completely equipped, nor ever 
had the nation more sanguine hopes of success. Lord Cathcart 
was appointed to command the land forces ; but he dying on the 
passage, the command devolved upon general Wentworth, whose 
abilities were supposed to be unequal to the trust reposed in 
him. 

33. When the forces were landed at Carthagena, they erect- 
ed a battery, with which they m.ade a breach in Vh« principal fort, 
while Vernon, who commanded the fleet, sent a number of ships 
into the harbour to divide tbo. tke of the enemy, and to co-ope^ 



2£4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35. 

rate with the army on shore. The breach being deemed prac- 
ticable, a body of troops^ were commanded to storm ; but the 
Spaniards deserted the forts, which, if possessed of courage, they 
might have defended with success. 

34. The troops upon gaining this advantage, were advanced 
a good deal nearer the city ; but tney there met a much greater 
opposition than they had expected. It was found, or asserted 
that the fleet could not he near enough to batter the town, and 
that nothing remained but to attempt one of the forts by scahng. 
The leaders of the fleet and the army began mutually to accuse 
each other, each asserting the probability of vvh.it the other de- 
nied. 

35. At length, Went worth, stimulated by the adrniral's re- 
proach, resolved to try the dangerous experiment, and ordered 
that fort St. Lazare should be attempted by scalade. Nothing 
could be more unfortunate than this undertaking ; the forces 
marching up to the attack, their guides were slain, and they mis- 
took their way. Instead of attempting the weakest port of the 
fort, they advanced to where it was strongest, and where they 
were exposed to the fire of the town. 

36. Colonel Grant, nho comm'tnded the grenadiers, was kill- 
ed in the beginning. Soon after, it was found that their scaling 
ladders were too short ; the officers were perplexed for want 
of orders, and the troops stood exposed to the whole tire of the 
enemy, without knowing how to proceed. After bearing a 
dreadful lire for some hours with great intrepidity, they at 
length retreated, leaving six hundred men dead on the spot. 
The terrors of the climate soon became more dreadful than those 
of war ; the rainy season came on with such violence, that it 
was impossible for the troopy to continue encamped ; and the 
mortaht}'^ of the season now began to attack them in ail its fright- 
ful varieties. 

37. To these calamities, sufficient to quell any enterprise, 
was added the dissentions between the land and sea command- 
ers, who blamed each other for every failure, and became fran- 
tic with mutual recrimination. They only therefore at last 
could be brought to agree in one mortifying measure, which was 
to re-embark the troops, and to withdraw them as quick as pos- 
sible from this scene of slaughter and contagion. 

38. This iatal miscarriage, which tarnished the British glory, 
was no sooner known in England, than the kingdom was tilled 
with murmurs and discontent. The loudest burst of indigna- 
tion was directed at the minister ; and they who once praised 
him for successes he did not merit, condemned him now for a 
failure, of which he wa< guiltless. 



Chap. 35. GEORGE II. ftU 

39. The minister finding the indignation of the house . p. 
of commons turned against him, tried every art to break /«./ 
that confederacy, which he knew he had not strength to 
oppose. The resentment of the people had been raised againsi, 
him to an extravagant height ; and their leaders taught them to 
expect very signal justice on their supposed oppressor. At 
length finding his post untenable, he declared he would never 
sit more in that house ; the next day the king adjourned both 
houses of parliament for ft few days, and in the interim sir Robert 
Walpole was created earl of Oxford, and resigned all his em- 
ployments. 

40. But the pleasure of his defeat was of short duration ; it 
soon appeared that those who declaimed most loudly for the 
libertiss of the people, had adopted nev; measures for their new 
employments. The new converts were branded as betrayers 
of the interests of the country ; but particularly the resentment 
of the people fell upon Pulteney, earl of Bath, who had long 
declaimed against that very conduct he now seemed earnest to 
pursue. 

41. He had been the idol of the people, and considered as. 
one of the most illustrious champions that had ever defended 
the cause of freedom ; but alhrred perhaps Avith the hope of 
governing in Walpoie's place, he was contented to give up his 
popularity for ambition. The king, however, treated him with 
that neglect which he merited ; he was laid aside for life, and 
continued a wretched surviver of all his former importance. 

42. The emperor died iu the year 1740 ; the French began 
to think this a favourable opportunity for exerting their ambition 
once more. Regardless of treaties, particularly that called the 
pragmatic sanction, by which the reversion of all the late empe- 
ror's dominions was settled upon his daughter, they caused the 
elector of Bavaria to be crowned emperor. Thus the q een of 
Hungary, daughter of Charles the sixth, descendea from an illus- 
trious line of emperors, saw herself stripped of heryaheritance, 
and left for a whole year deserted by all Europe, and without 
any hope of succour. 

43. She had scarce closed her father's eyes, when she lost 
Silesia, by an irruption of the young king of Prussia, who 
seized the opportunity of her defenceless state, to renew his 
ancient pretensions to that province, of which it must be 
owned his ancestors had been unjustly deprived. France, 
Saxony, and Bavaria, attacked the rest of her dominions ; Eng- 
land was the only ally that seemed willing to espouse her help- 
less condition. Sardinia and Holland soon after came to her 
:issistance, and, last of all, Russia acceded to the union in her 
favour. 

K 2 



22G HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35. 

44. It may now be demanded, what cause Britain liad to 
mtermeddle in these continental schemes. Jt can !)nly be an- 
swered, that the interests of Hanover, and the security of that 
electorate, depended upon the nicely balancing the different in- 
terests of the empire ; and the English ministry were willing 
to gratify the king. 

45. Accordingly, the king sent a body of English forces into 
the Netherlands, which he had augmented by sixteen thou- 
sand Hanoverians, to make a diversion upon the dominions of 
France, in the queen of Hungary's flwour. And by the assist- 
ance of these, the queen of Hungary soon began to turn the 
scale of victory on her side. The French were driven out of 
Bohemia. Her general, Prince Charles, at the head of a large 
army, invaded the dominions of Bavaria. Her rival, the nomi- 
nal emperor, was obliged to fly before her ; and being abandon- 
ed by his allies, and stripped of even his hereditary dominions, 
retired to Frankfort, where he lived in obscurity. 

46. The French, in order to prevent this junction of the 
Austrian and British forces, assembled an army of sixty thousand 
men upon the river Mayne, under the command , of Marshal 

. 1^ Noailles, who posted the troops upon the east side of 
' ' o* that river. The British forces to the number of forty 
* thousand, pushed forward on the other side, into a 
country where they found themselves entirely destitute of provi- 
sions, the French having cut off ail means of their being supplied. 

47. The king of England arrived at the camp, while his 
army was in this deplorable situation, wherefore he resolved to 
penetrate forward to join twelve thousand Hanoverians and 
Hessians, who had reached Hannau. With this view he de- 
camped ; but before his army had marched three leagues, he 
ibund the enemy had enclosed him on every side, near a vil- 
lage called Dettingen. 

48. Nothing now presented b^it the most mortifying pros- 
pects ; if he fought the enemy, it must be at the greatest dis- 
advantage ; ■ if he continued inactive, there was a certainty of be- 
ing starved ; and retreat for all was impossible. The impetu 
osity of the French troops saved his whole army. They passed 
a defile, which they should have been contented to guard, and, 
under the command of the duke of Gramons, their horse charg- 
ed the English foot with great fury. They were received with 
intrepidity and resolution ; so that they were obliged to give 
way, and repass the Mayne with precipitation, with the loss of 
about five thousand men. , , 

49. Meanwhile, the French went on with vigour on every 
side. They projected an invasion of England ; and Charles, 
the son of the old pretender, ^eparted from Rome, in the dia- 



ff Chap. 35. GEoKCiE il. 227 

guise of a Spanish courier, for Paris, where he liad an audience 
of the French king. 

60. This family had long been the dupes of France, but it 
was thought at present that there were serious resolutions 
formed in their favour. The troops destined for the expedi 
tion, amounted to tifteen thousand men ; preparations were made 
for embarking them at Dunkirk, and some of the nearest ports 
to England, under the eye of the young pretender. The duke ^ 
de Iloquefeuille, with twenty ships of the line, was to see 
them safely landed in England, and the famous count Saxe was 
to command them when put on shore. 

61. But the whole project was disconcerted by the appear- 
ance of sir John Norris, who, with a superior force, made up to 
attack them. The French fleet was thus obliged to keep back ; 
a very hard gale of wind damaged their transports beyond reme- 
dy ; and the French, now frusitrated in iheir scheme of a sud- 
den descent, thought fit openly to declare war. 

62. The French, therefore, entered upon the war with 
great alacrity. They besieged Fiihourgh, and in the begui 
i.-lng of the succeeding cnnspriign invested trie strong city of 
Tournay. Although the allies were inferior in number, and 
although commanded by the duke of Cumberland, yet they re- 
solved, if possible, to save the city, by hazarding a battle. 
They accordingly marched against the enemy, and took post 
in sight of the French, who were encamped on an eminence, 
the village of St. Antoine on the right, a wood on the left, and 
the town of Fontenoy before tlieni. 

63. This advantageous situation did not repress the ardour of 
the English, who began the attack at two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and pressing forward bore down all opposition. They 
were for near an hour victorious and coniident of success ; 
while Saxe, a soldier of fortune, who commanded the French 
army, was at that time sick of the same disorder of which he 
afterwards died. However, he was carried about to all the 
posts in a litter, and assured his attendants that notwithstanding 
all unf\\vourable appearances tlie day was his own. 

61. A column of the English, without any command, but 
by mere mechanic. .1 courage, had advanced upon the enemy's 
lines, which opening, formed an avenue on each side to re- 
ceive them. It was then that the French artillery on the three 
sides began to play on this tbrlorn body, which, though it, con- 
tinued a long time unshaken, was obliged at last to retreat 
about three m the afternoon. This was one of the most bloody 
battles that had been fought in this age ; the allies left on the 
tield of battle near twelve thousand men, and the French 
V wovight their victory with near an equal number of slain. 



S28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35. 

55. This blow, by whicn Tournay was taken by the French^ 
gave them such a manifest superiority all the rest of the cam- 
paign, that they kept the fruits of their victory during the 
whole continuance of the war. But tnough bad success at- 
. -p. tended the British arms by land and sea, yet these be- 
* * ing distvmt evils, the English seemed only to complain 
' ' from honourable motives, and murmured at distresses, 
of which they had but a very remote prospect. A civil war 
was now going to be kindled in their own dominions, which 
mixed terrors with their complaints ; and which, while it in- 
creased their perplexities, only cemented their union. 

66. It was at this period that the son of the old pretender re- 
solved to make an effort for gaining the British crown. Charles 
Edward, the adventurer in question, had been bred in a luxuri- 
ous court, without partaking in its etieminacy ; he was enterpri- 
sing and ambitious ; but either from inexperience, or natural in- 
ability, utterly unequal to the bold undertaking : he was long flat- 
tered by the rash, the superstitious, and the needy ; he was taught 
to believe that the kingdom was ripe for a revolt, and that it could 
not longer bear the immense load of taxes with which it was bur- 
thened. 

67. Being now, therefore, furnished with some money, and 
witli still larger promises from France, who fanned his ambition, 
he embarked for Scotland on board a small frigate, accompanied 
by the marquis of Tullibardine, sir Thomas Sheridan, and a few 
other desperate adventurers. Thus, for the conquest of the 
whole British empire, he only brought with him seven officers 
and arms for tvv-^o thousand men. 

68. The boldness of this enterprise astonished all Europe. It 
awakened the fears of the pusillanimous, the ardour of the brai'e, 
and the pity of the wise. But by this time, the young adventur- 
er was arrived at Perth, where the unnecessary ceremony waft 
performed of proclaiming his father king of Great Britain. 

69. From thence descending with his forces from the moun- 
tains, they seemed to gather as they went forward ; and advanc- 
ing to Edinburgh, they entered that city without opposition. 
There again the pageantry of proclamation was performed ; and 
there he promised to dissolve the union, which was considered as 
one of the grievances of the country. However, the castle of 
that city still held out, and he was unprovided with cannon to be- 
siege it. 

60. In the mean time, sir John Cope, who had pursued the 
rebels through the Highlands, but had declined meeting them in 
their descent, being now reinforced by two regiments of dra- 
goons, resolved to march towards Edinburgh, and give the ene- 
my battle. The young adventurer, whose forces were rather 



c-'hap. 35. GEORGE II. Z29 

superior, though undisciphned, attacked him near Preston Pans, 
about twelve miles from the capital, and in a few minutes put 
him and his troops to flight. 

61. This victory, by which the king lost five hundrfed men, 
gave the rebels good influence ; and had the pretender taken 
advantage of the general consternation, and marched directly for 
England, the conse<|uences might have been fatal to freedom. 
But he was amused with the promise of succours which never 
came ; and thus induced to remain in Edinburgh, to enjoy the 
triumphs of a trifling victory, and to be treated as a monarch. 

62. While the young pretender was trifling away his time in 
Edinburgh, for in dangerous enterprises delay is but defeat, the 
ministry of Great Britain took every proper precaution to oppose 
him with uccess. Six thousand Dutch troops, that had come 
over to the assistance of the crown, were despatched northward 
under the command of general Wade. 

63. The duke af Cumberland soon after arrived from Flan- 
ders, and was followed by another detachment of dragoons and 
infantry, well disciplined and inured to action. Besides these, 
volunteers offered in every part of the kingdom ; and every 
county exerted a vigorous spirit of indignation both against the 
ambition, the religion, and the allies of the young pretender. 

64. However, he had been bred up in a school that taught him 
maxims very diff'erent from those that then prevailed in England. 
Though he might have brought civil war and all the calamities 
attending it with him into the kingdom, he had been taught the 
assertion of his right was a duty incumbent upon him, and the 
altering the constitution, and perhaps the religion of his country, 
an object of laudable ambition. 

66. Thus animated, he went forward witli vigour, and having 
upon frequent consultations with his officers, came to a resolu- 
tion of making an irruption into England, he entered the coun- 
try by the western border, and invested Carlisle, which surren- 
dered in less than three days. He there found a considerable 
quantity of arms, and there too he caused his father to be pro- 
claimed king. 

66. General Wade being apprised of his progress, advanced, 
across the country from the opposite shore, but receiving intel- 
ligence that the enemy was two daj's march before him, he re- 
tired to his former station. The young pretender, therefore, 
thus unopposed, resolved to penetrate farther into the kingdom, 
having received assurances from France that a considerable body 
of troops would be landed on the southern coasts to make a di« 
version in his favour. 

67 He was flattered also with the hopes of being joined by a 
onsiaerable number of malecontents, as he passed forward; and 



230 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. Chap. 3.'5 

that his army would increase on the march. Accordingly, leav 
ing a small garri&on in Carlisle, which he should rather have left 
defenceless, he advanced to Penrith, marching on foot in a 
Highland dress, and continuing his irruption till he came to Man- 
chester, where he established his head quarters. 

68. He was there joined by about two hundred English, who 
were formed into a regiment, under the command of colonel 
Townly. From thence he pursued his march to Derby, intend- 
ing to go by the way of Chester into Wales, where ho hoped to be 
joined by a great number of followers ; but the factions among his 
own chiefs prevented his proceeding to that part of the kingdom. 

69. He was, by this time, advanced within a hundred miles of 
the capital, which was hlled with perplexity and consternation. 
Had he proceeded in his career with that expedition which he 
had hitherto used, he might have made himself master of the me- 
tropolis, where he would certainly have been joined by a con- 
siderable number of his well-wishers, who waited impatiently for 
his approacii. 

70. In the mean time, the king resolved to take the held in 
person. But he found safety from the discontents which now 
began to prevail in the pretender's army. In fact, he was but 
the nominal leader of his forces ; as his generals, the chiefs of 
the Highland clans, were, from their education, ignorant and 
averse to subordination. They Imd, from the beginning, begun 
to embrace opposite systems of operation, and to contend with 
eaoh other for pre-eminence ; but they seemed now unanimous 
in returning to their own country once more. 

71. The rebels accordingly effected their retreat to Carlisle, 
without any loss, and from thence crossed the rivers Eden and 
Splway into Scotland. In these marches, however, they pre- 
served all the rules of war ; they abstained in a great measure 
from plunder, they levied contributions on the towns as they 
passed along, and with unaccountable precaution left a garrison 
at Carlisle, which shortly after was obliged to surrender to the 
duke of Cumberland at discretion, to the number of four hun- 
dred men. 

72. The pretender being returned to Scotland, he proceeded 
to Glasgow, from which city he exacted several contributions. 
He advanced from thence to Stirling, where he was joined by 
lord Lewis Gordon, at the head of some forces, which had been 
assembled in his absence. Other clans also, to the number of 
two thousand, came in likewise ; and from some supplies of mo- 
ney which he had received from Spain, and some skirmishes in 
which he was successful against the royalists, his ^afiairs began to 
wear a more promising aspect. 

73. Being joined by lord Drummond, he invested the castle 



Chap. 35. GEOUGE v^.- 231 

of StirFing, commanded by general Blackncy ; but the rebel for- 
ces, being unused to a siege, consumed much time to no purpose. 
It was during this attempt that general IJavvley, who comman'dert' 
a considerable body offerees near Edinburgh, undertook to raise 
the siege, and advanced towards the rebel army as far as Fal- 
kirk. After two days spent in mutually examining each others 
strength, the rebels, being ardent to engage, were led on in full 
spirits to attack the king's army. 

74. The pretender, who was in the frontline, gave the signal 
to engage, and the tirst fire put Hawley's forces into confusion. 
The horse retreated with precipitation, and fell upon their own 
infantry ; while the rebels following their blow, the greatest 
part of their army fled with the utmost precipitation. They re- 
tired in confusion to Edinburgh, leaving the conquerors in posses- 
sion of their tents, their artillery, and the field of battle. 

75. Thus far the affairs of the rebel army seemed not unpros- 
perous ; but here was an end to all their triumphs. The duke of 
Cumberlan(i, at that time the favourite of the English army, had 
been recalled from Flanders, and put himself at the head of the 
troops at Edinburgh, which consisted of about fourteen thousand 
men. With these he advanced to Aberdeen, where he was jom- 
ed by some of the Scots nobility attached to the house of Hano- 
ver ; and having revived the drooping spirits of his army, he re- 
solved to lind out the enemy, who retreated at his approach. After 
having refreshed his troops at Aberdeen for some time, he re- 
newed his march, and in twelve days he came upon the banks of 
the deep and rapid river Spey. 

76. This was the place where the rebels might have disputed 
his passage, but they lost every advantage in disputing with each 
other. They seemed now totally devoid of all counsel and su- 
bordination ; without conduct, and without unanimity. After a . 
variety of contests among each other, they resolved to await their 
pursuers upon the plains of Culloden, a place about ten miles 
distant from Inverness, embosomed in hills, except on that side 
which was open to the sea. There they drew up in order of 
battle, to the number of eight thousand men, in three divisions, 
supplied with some pieces of artillery, ill m.anned and served. 

77. The battle began about one o'clock in the afternoon ; the 
cannon of the king's army did dreadful execution among the re- 
bels, while theirs was totally unserviceable. One of the great 
errors in the pretender's warlike measures, was his subjecting 
wild and undisciplined troops to the forms of artful war, and thus 
repressing their native ardour, from which alone he could hope 
for success. After they had been kept in their ranks, and with- 
stood the English tire for some time, they at length became im- 
patient for closer engagement, and about five hundred of them 



232 ISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35» 

made an irruption upon the left wing of the enemy with their 
accustomed ferocity. 

78. The first Hne being disordered by this onset, two battal- 
lions advanced to support it, and galled the enemy with a terrible 
and close discharge. At the same time, the dragoons under Haw- 
ley, and the Argyleshire miUtia, pulling down a park wall that 
guarded the flank of the enemy, and which they had but feebly 
defended, fell in among them sword in hand with great slaugh- 
ter. In less than thirty minutes they were totally routed, and 
the field covered with their wounded and slain, to the number 
of three thousand men. The French troops on the left did not 
fire a shot, but stood inactive during the engagement, and after- 
wards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. 

79. An entire body of the clans marched off the field in ordeY", 
wliile the rest were routed with great slaughter, and their lead- 
ers obliged with reluctance to retire. Civil war is in itself ter- 
rible, but more so when heightened by unnecessary cruelty. How 
guilty soever an enemy may be, it is the duty of a brave soldier 
to remember, that he is only to fight an opposer and not a suppli- 
ant. This victory was in every respect decisive, and humanity 
to the conquered would have r.endered it glorious. 

80. But little mercy was shown here ; the conquerors were 
seen to refuse quarter to the wounded, the unarmed, and the de- 
fenceless ; some were slain who were only excited by curiosity 
to become spectators of the combat, and soldiers were seen to 
■anticipate the base employment of the executioner. The duke, 
immediately after the action, ordered thirty-six deserters to be 
executed, the conquerors spread terror wherever they came, 
and after a short space the whole country round was one dread- 
ful scene of plunder, slaughter, and desolation ; justice was for- 
gotten, and vengeance assumed the name. 

81. In this manner were blasted all the hopes, and all the 
ambition of the young adventurer ; one short hour deprived him 
of imaginary thrones and sceptres, and reduced him from a no- 
minal king, to a distressed, forlorn outcast, shunned by all man- 
kind, except such as sought his destruction. To the good and 
brave, subsequent distress often atones for former guilt ; and 
while reason would speak for punishment, our hearts plead for 
mercy. Immediately after the engagement, he fled away with 
a captain of Fitz James's cavalry, and when their horses were 
fatigued they both alighted and separately sought for safety. 
He for some days wandered in this country naturally wild, but 
now rendered more formidable by war, a wretched spectator of 
all those horrors which were the result of his ill guided ambition. 

82. There is a striking simihtude between his adventures and 
those of Charles the second, upon his escape from Vv^orcester. 



Chap. 35 GEORGE II. 233 

He sometimes fo^nr? refuge in caves and cottages, without at- 
tendants, and dependent on the wretched natives who could pity, 
but not reUeve him. Sometimes he lay in forests with one or 
two companions of his distress, continually pursued by the troops 
of the conqueror, as there was a reward of thirty thousand pounds 
offered for tailing him dead or alive. Sheridan, an Irish adven- 
turer, was the person who kept more foitbfully by him, and in- 
spired him with courage to support such incredible hardships. 
He had occasion in the course of his concealment, to trust his life 
to the fidelity of about fifty individuals, whose veneration for his 
family prevailed above ttieir avarice. 

83. One day, having walked from morning till night, he ventur- 
ed to enter a house, the owner of which he well knew was at- 
tached to the opposite part^^ As he entered, he addressed the 
master of the house in the following manner. " The son of your 
king comes to beg a little bread and a few clothes. 1 know your 
present attachment to my adversaries, but I believe you have 
sufficient honour not to abuse ray confidence, or to take advan- 
tage of my distressed situation. Take these mgs that have for 
some time been my only covering ; you may probably restore 
them to me one day when 1 shall be seated on the throne of 
Great Britain." 

84. The master of the house was touched with pity and dis- 
tress ; he assisted him as far as he was able, and never divulged 
the secret. There were few of those who even wished his de- 
struction, would have chosen to be the immediate actors in it, as 
it would have subjected them to the resentment of a numerous 
party. 

85. In this manner he continued to wander among the fright- 
ful wilds of Glengary, for near six months, often hemmed round 
by his pursuers, but still rescued by some lucky accident from 
the impending danger. At length a privateer of St. Maloes, 
hired by his adherents, arrived at Lockranach, in which he em- 
barked in the most wretched attire. He was clad in a short coat 
of black frieze, threadbare, over which was a common Highland 
plaid, girt round by a belt, from which depended a pistol and a 
dagger. 

86. He had not been shifted for many weeks ; his eye was 
hollow, his visage wan, and his constitution greatly impared by 
famine and fatigue. He was accompanied by Sulhvan and Sheri- 
dan, two Irish adherents, who had shared all his calamities, to- 
gether with Cameron of Lochhel, and his brother, and a few 
other exiles. They set sail for France, and after having been 
chased by two English men of war, they arrived in safety at a 
place called Pvosseau, near Morlaix in Bretagne. Perhaps he 
would have found it more difficult to escape, had not the vigi- 



284 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35. 

lance of his pursuers been relaxed by a report that he was air 
ready slain. 

87. In the mean time, while the pretender was thus pursued^ 
the scaffolds and gibbets were preparing for his adherents 
Seventeen officers of the rebel army were hanged, drawn, am 
quartered, at Kennington common, in the neighbourhood of Lon 
don. Their constancy in death gained more proselytes to thei 
cause than even perhaps their victories would have obtained.^ 
Nine were executed in the same manner at Carlisle, and eleved 
at York. A few obtained pardons, and a considerable number\ 
of the common men were transported to the plantations in North, 
America. 

88. The earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and the lordl 
Balmerino, Avere tried by their peers, and found guilty. Cro 
martie was pardoned, and the others were beheaded on Tower 
hill. In this manner, victory, defeat, negotiation, treachery and I 
rebellion, succeeded each other rapidly for some years, till alVi 
sides began to think themselves growing more feeble, and gain- 
ing no solid advantage. 

89. A negotiation was therefore resolved upon ; and the three 
contending powers agreed to come to a congress at Aix-la-Cha 
pelle, where the the earl of Sandwich and sir Thomas Robinson, 
assisted as plenipotentiaries from the king of Great Britain. This 
treaty was begun, upon the preliminary conditions of restoring 
all conquests made during the war. From thence great hopes 
were expected of conditions both favourable and honourable tfl 
the English : but the treaty still remains a lasting mark of preci- 
pitate counsels, and English disgrace. 

90. By this it was agreed, that all prisoners on each side 
should be mutually restored, and all conquests given up. Tha^ 
the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Gustalla, should be ceded 
to Don Philip, heir apparent to the Spanish throne, and to his 
heirs ; but in case of his succeeding to the crown of Spain, ther^ 
these dominions should revert to the house of Austria. It was 
confirmed that the fortifications of Dunkirk to the sea should be? 
demolished ; that the English ship annually sent with slaves td 
the coast of New Spain, should have tl\is privilege continued for 
four years. That the king of Prussia should be contirmed in the 
possession of Silesia, which he had lately conquered ; and that 
the queen of Hungary should be secured in her patrimonial do- 
minions. ' 

91. But one article of the peace was more displeasing and afi 
flictive to the English than ail the rest. It was stipulated that 
the king of Great Britain should, immediately after the ratifica- 
tion of this treaty, send two persons of rank and distinction to 
France as hosta«-(>s. until the restitution should be made of Ca^Q 



lap. 35. GEORGE II. 235 

Breton, and ail other conquests which England had made during 
the war. This was a mortifying clause ; but, to add to the ge- 
neral error of the negotiation, no mention was made of the search- 
ing of the vessels of England in the American seas, upon which 
the war was originally begun. 

92. The hmits of their respective possessions in North Ame- 
rica were not ascertained ; nor did they receive any equivalent 
for those forts which they restored to the enemy. The treaty 
of Utrecht had long been the object of reproach to those by 
whom it was made ; but with all its fuults, the treaty now con- 
cluded, was by far more desj)icable and erroneous. Yet such 
was the spirit of the times, that the treaty of Utrecht was brand- 
ed with universal contempt, and the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 
was extolled with the highest strain of pniise. 

93. This treaty, which some asserted would serve for a bend 
of permanent amity, was, properly speaking, but a temporary 
truce ; a cessation from hostilities, which both sides were una- 
ble to extend. Though the war between England and France 
was actually hushed up in Europe, yet in the East and West In- 
(hes it still went forward, though with diminished vehemence. 
Both sides still willing to ofl'end, still ofi'ending, and yet both 
complaining of the infraction. 

94. A new colony having been formed in North America, in 
the province of Nova Scotia, it was thought that thither the waste 
of an exuberant nation might well be drained off, and those bold 
spirits kept in employment at a distance, who might be danger- 
ous if suffered to continue in idleness at home. Nova Scotia was 
a place where men might be imprisoned, but not maintained; it 
was cold, barren, and incapable of successful cultivation. The 
new colony therefore was maintained there with some expense 
to the government in the beginning, and such as were permitted, 
soon went southward to the milder climates, where they were 
invited by an untenanted and fertile soil. Thus did the nation 
ungratefully send off her hardy veterans to perish on inhospita- 
ble shores, and this they were taught to believe would extend 
their dominion. 

96. However, it was for this barren spot that the English and 
French revived the war, which soon after spread with such ter- 
rible devastation over every part of the globe. The native In- 
dians bordering upon the deserts of Nova Scotia, a tierce and sa- 
vage people, looked from tlie first with jealousy upon their new 
settlers ; and they considered the vicinity of the English as an 
encroachment upon their native possessions. 

96. The French, who were neighbours in like manner, and 
who were still impressed with national animosity, fomented these 
guspicions iu the natives, and represented the English (and witU 



236 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35 

regard to this colony, the represeiitation might be true,) as en- 
terprising and severe. Commissaries were, therefore, appoint-^, 
ed to meet at Paris, to compromise these disputes ; but thesdl 
conferences were rendered abortive by the cavilhngs of raen|! 
who could not be supposed to understand the subject in debated. 

97. As this seems to be the first place where ihe dissentions 
took their rise for a new war, it may be necessary to be a little 
more minute. The French had been the first cultivators oi 
Nova Scotia, and by great industry and long perseverance, had 
rendered the soil, naturally barren, somewhat more fertile, and 
capable of sustaining nature, with some assistance from Europe^ 

98. This country, however, had frequently changed masters J. 
until at length the English were settled in the possession, and| 
acknowledged as the rightful owners, by the treaty of Utrecht, 
Tiie possession of this country was reckoned necessary todefenc 
the English colonies to the north, and to preserve their superil 
ority in the fisheries in that part of world. The French, how- 
ever, who had been long settled in the back parts of the country, 
resolved to use every method to dispossess the new comers, and 
spirited up the Indians to more open hostilities, which were 
represented to the English ministry for so.me time without re- 
dress. 

99. Soon after this, anottrer source of dispute began to be seer 
in the same part of the world, and promised aS much uneasinesj 
as the former. The French, pretending first to have discoverec 
the mouth of the river JMississippi, claimed the whole adjacen 
country towards New Mexico on the East, and quite to the Apa 
lachian mountains on the West. In order to assert their claims, 
as they found several English, who had settled beyond thes« 
mountains, from motives of commerce, and also invited by thi 
natural beauties of the country, they dispossessed them of tneh 
new settlements, and built such forts as would command the whol( 
country' round about. 

100. Not in America alone, but also in Asia, the seeds of a 
new war were preparing to be expanded. On the coasts of Ma- 
labar, the English and French had, in fact, never ceased fron 
hostilities. 

101. The ministry, however, in England began now a ver} 
vigorous exertion in defence of their colonies, who refused to 
defend themselves. Four operations were undertaken » ^ 
in America at the same time. Of these, one was command- . '-J 
ed by colonel Monckton, who had orders to drive the 
French from the encroachments upon the province of Nova Sco- 
tia. The second, more to tbe south, was directed against Crown 
Point, under the command of general Johnson. The third, un- 
der the conduct of general Shirlo «••*« ^^'«tined to Niagara, to 



Chap. 35 GEORGE II. 237 

secure the forts on tbc river ; and the fourth was farther south- 
^vard still, against fort Du Q,ae.sne, under general Braddock. 

102. In these expeditions, Monckton was successful ; Johnson 
fvas also victorious, though he failed in taking the fort against 
vhich he was sent ; Shirley was thought to have lost the season 
'or operation by delay ; Braddock was vigorous and active, but 

uffered a defeat. This bold commander, who had been recom- 
liended to this service by the duke of Cumberland, set forward 
ipon his expedition in June, and left the cultivated parts of the 

ountry on the tenth, at the head of two thousand two hundred 
lien, directing his march to that part of the country where ge- 
lera! Washington had been defeated the year before. 

103. Being at length within ten miles of the French fortress 
le was appointed to besiege, and marching forward through the 
forests with full confidence of success, on a sudden his whole 
army was astonished by a general discharge of arms, both in front 
and flank, from an enemy that still remained unseen. It was 
how too late to think of retreating ; the troops had passed into a 
[lelile, which the enemy had artfully permitted them to do before 
they offered to fire. The vanguard of the English now, therefore, 
fell back in consternation upon the main body, and the panic 
soon became general. The officers alone disdained to fly, while 
Braddock himself, still continuing to command his brave associ- 
ates, discovered at once the greatest intrepidity and greatest im- 
prudence. 

104. An enthusiast to the discipline of war, he disdained to 
fly from the field, or to permit his men to quit their ranks, when 
their only method of treating the Indian army, was by a pi».^cipi- 
tate attack, or an immediate desertion of the field of battle. At 
length, Braddock having received a musket shot through the 
lungs, he dropped, and a total confusion ensued. Ail the artil- 
lery, ammunition, and baggage of the army, were left to the ene- 
my ; and the loss sustained b}' the English army might amount to 
seven hundred men. 

i05. The murmurs, and fears, and dissentions which this de- 
feat gave rise to, gave the French an opportunity of carrying ©n 
their designs in another quarter. The island of Minorca, which 
we had taken from the Spaniards in the reign of queen Anne, was 
secured to England by repeated treaties. But the ministry, at 
this time being bhnded by domestic terrors, had neglected to take 
sufficient precautions for its defence, so that the garrison was 
weak, and no way fitted to stand a vigorous siege. 

106. The French therefore landed near the foitification of St 
Philips, which was reckoned one of the strongest in Europe, and 
commanded by general Blackney, who was brave indeed, but ra- 
ther superannuated. The siege was carried on with great vi- 



238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 3fe| 

gour, and for some time as obstinately defended on the side ot 
the English, but the place was at length obliged to capitulate. 

107. The ministry being apprised of this unexpected attack,: 
resolved to raise the siege if possible, and sent out admiral Byng, 
with ten ships of war, with orders to relieve Minorca at any rate. 
Byng accordingly sailed from tjibralter, where he was refused 
any assistance of men from the governor of that garrison, under 
a pretence that his own fortitication was in danger. Upon his 
approaching the island, he soon saw the French banners display- 
ed upon the shore, and the English colours still flying on the cas- 
tle of St. Philip. 

108. He had been ordered to throw a body of troops into the 
garrison, but this he thought too hazardous an undertaking ; nor 
did he even make an attempt. While he was thus deliberating 
between his fears and his duty, his attention was quickly called 
off by the appearance of a French fleet, that seemed of nearly 
equal force to his own. Confounded by a variety of measures, 
he seemed resolved to pursue none, and tlierefore gave orders 
to form the line of battle, and act upon the defensive. 

109t, Byng had been long praised for his skill in naval tactics ; 
and, perhaps valuing most those talents for which he was most 
praised, he sacrificed all claims to courage, to the applause for 
naval disciphne. The French fleet advanced, a part of the Eng- 
lish fleet engaged, the admiral still kept aloof, and gave very 
plausible reasons for not coming into action. The French fleet, 
therefore, slowlj' sailed away, and no other opportunity ever 
offered of coming to a closer engagement. 

1 10. Nothing could exceed the resei:tmentof the nation upon 
being informed of Byng's conduct. The ministry were not 
averse to throw from themselves the blame of those measures 
which were attended with such indifferent success, and they se- 
cretly fanned the flame. The news, which soon after arrived, 
of the surrender of the garrison to the French, drove the gene- 
ral ferment almost to frenzy. In the mean time Byng continued 
at Gibralter, quite satisfied with his own conduct, and little ex- 
pecting the dreadful storm that was gathering against him at 
home. 

111.. Orders, however, were soon sent out for putting him 
under an arrest, and carrying him to England. Upon his arrival 
he was committed to close custody in Greenwich hospital, and 
some arts were used to inflame the populace against him, who 
want no incentives to injure and condemn their superiors. Se- 
veral addresses were sent up from different counties, demanding 
justice on the delinquent, which the ministry were wilhngto se- 
cond. He was soon after tried by a court-martial in the harbour 
•f Portsmouth, where, after a triai which continued several days, 



Chap. 35. GEORGE fl. 239 

his judges were agreed that he had not done his utmost during 
the engagement to destroy the enemy, and therefore they ad- 
judged him to suffer death by the twelfth article of war. 

112. At the same time, ho^^ever, they recommended him as 
an object of mercy, as they considered his conduct rather the ef- 
fect of error than of cowardice. By this sentence they expect- 
ed to satisfy at once the resentment of the nation, and yet screen 
themselves from conscious severity. The government was re- 
solved upon showing him no mercy ; the parliament was applied 
to in his fdvour ; but they found no circumstances in his conduct 
that could invalidate his Ibrmer sentence. Being thns abandon- 
ed to his fate, he maintained to the last, a degree of fortitude and 
serenity, that no way betrayed any timidity or cowardice. On 
the day tixed for his execution, which was on board a man of 
war in the harbour of Portsmouth, he advanced from the cabin, 
where he had been imprisoned, upon the deck, the place ap- 
pointed for liim to suffer. 

j 113. After delivering a pnper, containing tlie strongest asser- 
jlions of his innocence, he came forward to the place where he 
I was to kneel down, and for some time persisted in not covering 
jhis face ; but his friends representing that his looks would pos 
sibly intimidate the soldiers who v»'ere to shoot him, and prevent 
their taking proper aim, he had his eyes bound with a handker- 
chief; and then giving a signal for the soldiers to lire, he was kill- 
ed instantaneousl3^ There appears some severity m Byng's 
punishment, but it certainly produced soon after, very beneficial 
effects to the nation. 

114. In the progress of the war the forces of the contending 
powers of Europe were now drav/n out in the foIJowing manner ; 
England opposed France in America, Asia, and on the ocean. 
France attacked Great Britain in Hanover, on the continent of Eu- 
rope. This country the king of Prsissia un*»ertook to protect ; 
while England promised him troops and money to assist his opera- 
tions. Then again Austria had her aim on the dominions of 
Prussia, and drew the elector of Saxony into the same designs. In 
these vievvs she Avas seconded by France and Sweden, and by 
Russia, who had hopes of acquiring a settlement in the west 
of Europe. 

116. The east was the quarter oi* which success first began 
to dawn upon the British arms. The affairs of the English seem- 
ed to gain the ascendancy by the conduct of Mr. Clive. This 
gentleman had at first entered the company's service in a civil 
capacity, but finding his talents more adapted for war, he gave 
up his clerkship, and joined among the troops as a volunteer 
His courage, which is all that subordinate officers can at first show, 
soon became remarkakle ; but his conduct, expedition, and 



240 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Gbap. 35.f 

military skill, soon after became so conspicuous, as to raise him' 
to the first rank in the army. 

116. The first advantage that was obtained from his activity' 
and courage, was the clearing the province of Arcot. Soon after 
the French general was taken prisoner : and the nabob, whom) 
the English supported, was reinstated in the government, of which ^ 
he had formerly been deprived. ' 

1 1 7. The prince of the greatest power in that country declar-" 
ed war against the English from motives of personal resentment, 
and levying a numerous army laid siege to Calcutta, one of the 
principal British forts in that part of the world ; but which was 
not in a state of strength to defend itself against the attack of even 
barbarians. The fort was taken, having been deserted by the 
commander ; and the garrison, to the number of a hundred and 
forty-six persons were made prisoners. 

118. They expected the usual treatment of prisoners of war, 
and were therefore less vigorous in their defence ; but they 
soon found what mercy was to be expected from a savage con- 
queror. They were all crowded together into a narrow prison, 
called the Black hole, of about eighteen feet square, and receiv- 
ing air only by two small iron windows to the west, which by no 
means afforded a sufficient circulation. 

119. It is terrible to reflect on the situation of these unfortu- 
nate men, shut up in this narrow place, in the burning climate of 
the east, and suffocating each other. Their first efibrts, upon 
perceiving the effects of their horrid confinement, were to break 
open the door of the prison ; but as it opened inward they soon 
found that impossible. They next endeavoured to excite the 
compassion or avidit};^ of the guard, by offering him a large sum 
of money for his assistance in removing them to separate prisons ; 
but with this he was not able to comply, as the viceroy was 
asleep, and no person dared to disturb him. 

120. They were now, therefore, left to die without hopes of 
relief; and the whole prison was filled with groans, shrieks, con- 
test and despair. This tubulence, however, soon after sunk into 
a calm still more hideous ; efforts of strength and courage were 
over, and an expiring langour succeeded. In the morning, when 
the keepers came to visit the prison, all was horror, silence and 
desolation. Of a hundred and forty-six who had entered alive, 
twenty-three only survived, and of these the greatest part died , 
of putrid fevers upon being set free. 

121. The destruction of this important fortress served to in- 
terrupt the prosperous" success of the English company ; but the 
fortune of Mr. Clive, backed by the activity of an Enghsh fleet 
under admiral Watson, still turned the scale in their favour. 
Among the number of those who felt the power of the English 



©hap. 35. GEORGE II. 241 

in this part of the world, was the famous Tullagee Augria, a pi- 
ratical prince, who had long infested the Indian ocean, and made 
the princes on the coast his tributaries. He mamtained a large 
number of gallies, and with these he attacked the largest ships^ 
and almost ever with success. 

122. As the company had been greatly harrassed by his dep 
redations, they resolved to subdue such a dangerous enemy, and 
attacked him in his own fortress. In pursuance of this resolu- 
tion, admiral Watson and colonel Clive sailed into his harbour ot 
Geriah, and though they sustained a warm fire, as they entered, 
yet they soon threw all his fleet into tlames, and obliged his fort 
to surrender at discretion. The conquerors found there a large 
quantity of warlike stores, and effects to a considerable value. 

123. Colonel Clive proceeded to take revenge for the cruelty 
practised upon the English. About the beginning of December 
he arrived at Balasore in the kingdom of Bengal. He met with 
little opposition either to the fleet or the army, till they came 
before Calcutta, which seemed resolved to stand a regular siege. 
As soon as the admiral, with two ships, arrived before the town, 
he received a furious tire from all the batteries, which he soon 
returned with still greater execution, and in less than two hours 
obliged them to abandon their fortifications. By these means 
the English took possession of the two strongest settlements on 
the banks of the Ganges ; but that of Geriah they demolished to 
the ground. 

124. Soon after these successes, Hughly, acity of great trade, 
was reduced with as little difficult^^ as the former, and all the 
yiceroy of Bengal's store-houses, and graneries were destroyed. 
In order to repair these losses this barbarous prince assembled an 
army of ten thousand horse, and fifteen thousand foot, and pro- 
fessed a firm resolution of expelling the English from all their 
settlements in that part of the world. Upon the first intelligence 
of his march colonel Clive obtaining a reinforcement of men from 
the admiral's ships, advanced with his little army to attack these 
numerous forces. He attacked the enemy in three columns, 
and though the numbers were so disproportioned, victory soon 
declared in favour of the English. 

125. The English by these victories having placed a viceroy 
on the throne, (for the Mogul had long lost all power in India,) 
they took care to exact such stipulations in their own favour as 
would secure them the possession of the country, whenever they 
thought proper to resume their authority. They were gratified, 
in their avarice to its extremest wish ; and that wealth which 
they had plundered from slaves in India, they were resolved t# 

I employ in making slaves at home. 

126. From the conquest of the Indians colonel Clive turned t« 

L 



242 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. cLap. 55. 

the humbling of the Frei.d), who had long disputed empire in 
that part of the world, and soon dispossessed them of all their 
power and all their settlements. 

127. In the mean time, while conquest shined upon us from 
the east, it was still more spiended in the western world. But 
some alterations in the ministry led to those successes,which had 
been long wished for by the nation, and were at length obtained. 
The affairs of war had been hitherto directed by a ministry but 
ill supported by the commons, because not confided in by the 
people. They seemed timid and wavering, and but feebly held 
together, rather by their fears than by their mutual confi- 
dence. 

128. When any new measure was proposed which could not 
receive their approbation, or any new member was introduced 
into government, whom they did not appoint, they considered it 
as an infringement upon their respective departments, and threw 
up their places in disgust, with a view t£> resume them with great- 
er lustre. Thus the strength of the crown was every day de- 
olining, while an aristocracy filled up every avenue to the throne, 
intent onlj on the emoluments, not the duties of office. 

1 29. This was, at that time, the general opinion of the people, 
and it was too loud not to reach the throne. The ministry, that 
had hitherto hedged in the throne, were at length obliged to ad- 
mit some men into a share of the government, whose activity at 
least would couiilerbidance their timidity and irresolution. At 
the head of the newly introduced party was the celebrated Mr. 
William Pitt, from whose vigo'jr the natloa formed very great ex- 
pectations, and they were not deceived. 

130. But though the old ministers were obliged to admit these 
nevv members into their society, there was no legal penalty for 
refusing to operate with them ; they, therefore, associated with 
each other, and used every art to make their new assistants ob- 
noxious to the king, upon whom they had been, in a manner, forc- 
ed by the people- His former ministry flattered him in all his 
Httiichments to his German dominions, while the new had long 
clamoured against all continental connexions, as utterly incom- 
patible with the mterest of the nation. These two opinions, car- 
ried to the extreme, might have been erroneous ; but the king 
was naturally led to side with those who favoured his own senti- 
ments, and to reject those who opposed them. 

131. Mr. Pitt, therefore, after being a few months in office 
was ordered to resign by his majesty's command, and his coadju- 
tor, Mr. Legge, was displaced from being chancellor of the ex- 
chequer. But this blow to his ambition was but of short con- 
tinuance ; the whole nation, almost to a man, seemed to rise up 
m his defence, and Mr. Pitt and Mr. Leojre, being restored to 



Chap. 35. GEORGE 11. 243 

their former employments, the one of secretary of state, the 
other of chaucellor of the exchequer, began to act with vigour. 

132. The consequences of the former ill conducted counsels 
still seemed to continue in America. The general sent over to 
manage tlie operations of the war, loudly accused the timidity 
and delays of the natives, whose duty it was to unite in their own 
defence. The natives, on the other hand, as warmly expostula- 
ted against the pride, avarice, and incapacity of those sent over 
to command them. 

133. General Shirley, who had been appointed to the supreme 
command there, had been for some time recalled, and replaced 
by lord Loudon ; and this nobleman also, soon after returning to 
England, three several commanders were put at the head of se- 
parate operations. General Amherst commanded that designed 
against the island of Cape Breton. The other was consigned to 
general Abercrombie, ag-jiist Crown Point and Ticonderoga ; 
and the third stdl more to the southward, against fort Du Q,uesne, 
commanded by brigadier general Forbes. 

134. Cape Breton, which had been taken from the French 
during the preceding war, had been restored at the treaty of Aix 
la Chapelle. It was not till the English had been put in posses- 
sion of that island that they began to perceive its advantageous 
situation, and the convenience of its harbour for annoying the 
British trade with impunity. It was also a convenient port for 
carrying on their fishery, a branch of commerce of the utmost 
Vjenetit to that nation. The wresting it, therefore, once more 
from the hand:i of the French, was a measure ardently desired by 
the whole nation. 

I 135. The fortress of Louisburgh, by which it was defended, 

had been strengthened by the assistance of art, and was still bet- 

i ter defended from the nature of its situation. The garrison aiso 

, was numerous, the commander vigilant, and every precaution 

f taken to oppose a landing. An account of the operations of the 

siege can give but little pleasure in abridgement ; be it sufficient 

to say, that the English surmounted every obstacle with great 

intrepidity. Their former timidity and irresolution seemed to 

vanish, their natural courage and confidence returned, and the 

place surrendered by capitulation. The fortifications were soon 

after demolished, and rendered unfit for future protection. 

136. The expedition to fort Du Quesne was equally success- 
ful, but that against Crown Point was once more defeated. This 
was now the second time that the English army had attempted to 
penetrate into those hideous wilHs by which nature had secured 
the French possessions in that part of the world. Braddock fell 
in the attempt, a martyr to his impetuosity ; too much caution 
was eoually injurious to hissuccer or. .AbeRrrorabie spent much 



544 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35 

time m marching to the place of action, and the enemy were thus 
perfectly prepared to give him a severe reception. 

137. As he approached Ticonderoga, he found them deeply 
intrenched at the foot of the fort, and still further secured by 
fallen trees, with their branches pointing against him. These 
difficulties the English ardour attempted to surmount, but as the 
enemy, being secure in themselves, took aim at leisure, a terri- 
ble carnage of the assailants ensued, and the general, after re- 
peated efforts, was obliged to order a retreat. 

138. The English army, however, were still superior, and 
it was supposed that when the artillery was arrived, something 
more successful might be performed ; but the general felt too 
sensibly the terrors of the late defeat to remain in the neighbour- 
hood of a triumphant enemy. He, therefore, withdrew his troops, 
and returned to his camp at lake George, from whence he had 
taken hi^ departure. 

139. Bat though in this respect the English arms were unsuc- 
cessful, yet upon the whole, the campaign was greatly in their 
favour. The taking of fort Du Q,aesne served to remove from 
their colonies the terror of the incursions of the Indians, while 
it interrupted that correspondence which ran along a chain of 
forts, with which the French had environed the English settle- 
ments in America. This, therefore, promised a fortunate cam- 
paign the next year, and vigorous measures were taken to en- 
sure success. 

140. Accordingly, on the opening of the following year, the 
ministry, sensible that a single effort, carried on in such an exten- 
sive country, would never reduce the enemy, they resolved to 
attack them in several parts of their empire at once. Prepara- 
tions were also made, and expeditions driven forward against 
three different parts of North America at the same time. 

141 . General Amherst, the commander in chief, with a body 
of twelve thousand men, was to attack Crown Point, that had 
hitherto been the reproach of the English army. General Wolfe 
was, at the opposite quarter, to enter the river St. Lawrence, and 
undertake the siegcf of Quebec, ihe capital of the French domi- 
nions in America ; while general Prideaux and sir William John- 
son were to attempt a French fort near the cataracts of Niagara, 

142. The last named expedition was the first that succeed- 
ed. The fort of Niagara was a place of great importance, and 
served to command all the communication between the northern 
'^nd western French settlements. The siege was begun with vi- 
gour, and promised an easy conquest; but general Prideaux was 
killed in the trenches by the bursting of a mortar ; so that the 
whole command of the expedition devolved upon general John 

■ soTij who omitted nothing to push forward the vigorous opera- 



Chap. 35. GEORGE II. $46 

tions of his predecessor, to which also he added his own popu- 
larity with the soldiers under him. 

143. A body of French troops, who were sensible of the im- 
portance of this fort, I'tterhpted to relieve it, but Johnson at- 
tacked them with intrepidity and success, for in less than an 
hour their whole army was put to the rout. The garrison, soon 
after, perceiving the fate of their countrymen, surrendered pri- 
fsoners of war. The success of general Amherst was less splepd- 
ed, though not less serviceable ; upon arriving at the destined 
place, he found the forts, both of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 
deserted and destroyed. 

144. There now, therefore, remained but one grand and de- 
cisive blow to put all North America into the possession of the 
English ; and this was the takiuir of Quebec, the capital of Cana- 
da, a city handsomely built, populous, and flourishing. Admiral 
Saunders was appointed to command the naval part of the expe- 
dition ; the siege by land v/as committed to the conduct of gene- 
Wolfe, of whom the nation had great expectations. This young 
soldier, who was not yet thirty-five, had distinguished himself on 
many former occasions, particularly at the siege ofLouisburgh ; a 
part of the success of v/hich was justly ascribed to him, » t^ 
who, without being indebted to family or connexions, had ^'^^q 
raised himself by merit to his present command. '^ 

1 45. The war, in this part of the world, had been hitherto car- 
ried on with extreme barbarity ; and retaliating murders were 
continued without any one knowing who first began. Wolfe, how- 
ever, disdained to imitate an example that had been set him, even 
by some of his associate officers ; he carried on the war with ali 
the spirit of humanity v/hicli it admits of. 

46. It is not our aim to enter into a minute detail of the siege 
of this city, which could at best only give amusement to a few ; 
it will be sufficient to say, that when we consider the situation of 
the town, on the side of a great river, the fortifications with whi<.h 
it was secured, the natural strength of the country, the great 
number of vessels and floating batteries the enemy had provided 
for the defence of the river, the numerous bodies of savages con- 
tinually hovering round the Eiiglish army, we must own there 
was such a combination of diflicultics as might discourage and per- 
plex the most resolute commander. 

1 47. The general iiimself seemed perfectly sensible of the dif- 
ficulty of the undertaking. After stating in a letter to the minis- 
try, the dangers that ^resented, " I know," said he, "that the 
affairs of Great Britain require the most vigorous measures. But 
then the courage of a handful of brave men should be exerted 
only where there is some hope of a favourable event. At pre- 
sent the difficulties are so various^ that I am at a loss how to de- 



246 IIISTOlir VI LNGLAND. Chap. 3^, 

termine." The only prospect of attempting the town with suc- 
cess was by landing a body of troops in the night below the town, 
who were to claaibcr up the banks of the river, and take posses- 
sion of the ground on the back of the city. 

148. This attempt, however, appeared peculiarly discourag- 
ing. The stream was rapid, the shore shelving, the bank above 
lined with centinels, the landing place so narrow as to be easily 
missed in the dark, and the steepness of the ground such as hard- 
ly to be surmounted in the day time. x\ll t^iese diihculties, how- 
ever, were surmounted by the conduct of the general, and the 
bravery of the men. Colonel Howe, with the light inflmtry and 
the Highlanders, ascended the woody precipices with admirable 
courage, and activit3^ and dislodged a small body of troops that 
defended a narrow pathway up the bank ; thus, a few mounting, 
the general drew the rest up in order as they arrived. 

149. Monsieur de Montcalm, the French commander, was no 
sooner apprised that the English had gained these heights, which 
he had contidently deemed inaccessible, than he resolved to ha- 
zard a battle, and a furious encounter quickly began. This was 
one of the most desperate engagements during the war. The 
French general was slain ; the second in command shared the 
same fate. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, where the 
attack was most warm ; as he stood conspicuous in the front line 
he had been aimed at by the enemy's marksmen, and received a 
shot in the wrist, vvhich, however, did not oblige him to quit the 
field. 

150. Having wrapped a handkerchief round his hand, he con- 
tinued giving orders without the least emotion, and advanced at 
the head of the grenadiers with their bayonets tlxed ; but a se- 
cond ball, more fatal, pierced his breast ; so that, unable to pro- 
ceed, he leaned on the shoulder of a soldier that was next him. 
Now struggling in the agonies of death, and just expiring, he 
heard a voice cry, they run 1 upon which he seemed for a mo- 
ment to revive, and asking who ran, vvas informed the French. 
Expressing his wonder they ran so soon, and unable to gaze any 
longer, he sunk on the soldier's breast, and his last words were, 
" I die happy." Perhaps the loss of the English that day was 
greater than the conquest of Canada was advantageous, but it is 
the lot of mankind only to know true merit on that dreadful oc- 
casion when they are going to lose it. 

151. The surrender of Quebec was the consequence of this 
victory ; and with it soon .ifter, tiie total cession of all Canada. 
The French indeed, the following season, made a vigorous effort 
to. retake the city, but the resolution of governor Murray, and the 
appearance of an English iicet under the con\mand of lord Col« 
ville, obliged them to abandon the cntcrprize. 



Cnap. 35. GEORGE II. 247 

132. The whole province was soon after reduced by the pru- 
dence and activity of general Amherst, who obliged the French 
army to capitulate, and it has since remained annexed to the 
British empire. To these conquests, about the same time, was 
added the redaction of the island of Guadaloupe, under commo- 
aore More and general Hopson, an acquisition of great impor- 
tance, but which was restored at the succeeding peace. 

153. These successes in India aiid America were great, though 
achieved by no very expensive eilorts ; on the contrary, the ef- 
forts the English made in Europe, and the operations of their 
great ally, the king of Prussia, were astonishing, yet produced 
no signal ad van cages. 

154. England was all this time happily retired from the mise- 
ries which oppressed the rest of Europe ; yet from her natural 
military ardour she seemed desirous of sharing those dangers of 
which she was only a spectator. This passion for sharing in a 
continental war was no less pleasing to tiie king of England, from 
his native attachments, than from a desire of revenge upon the 
plunderers of his country. 

155. As soon, therefore, as it was known that prince Ferdi- 
nand had put himself at the head of the Hanoverian array to as- 
sist the king of Prussia, his Biitannic majesty in a speech to his 
parliament observed, that the late successes of his ally in Ger- 
many had given a happy turn to his aftairs, which it would be 
necessary to improve. The commons concurred in his senti- 
ments, and hberally granted supplies, both for the service^ of the 
king of Prussia, and for enabling the army formed in Hanover, 
to act vigorously in conjunction with him. 

156. From sending money over into Germany, the nation 
began to extend their benelits, and it vvas soon considered that 
men would be a more grateful supply. Mr. Pitt, who had at 
first came into popularity and power by opposing such measures, 
was now prevailed on to enter into them with even greater ar- 
dour, than any of his predecessors. 

157. The hopes of putting a sj)eedy end to the war by vigor- 
ous measures, the connexions with which he was obliged to co- 
operate, and perhaps the pleasure he found in pleasing the king, 
altogether incited him eagerly to push forward a continental war. 
However, he only conspired with the general incUnation of the 
people at this time, who allured by the noble efforts of their only 
ally, were unwilling to see him fall a sacrihce to the united am- 
bition of his enemies 

158. In order to indulge the general inchnation of assisting 
the king of Prussia, the duke of Marlborougii was at first sent 
into Germany, with a small body of British forces to join with 



?48 HISTORl OF ENGLAND. Chap. SR 

prince Ferdinand, whose activity against the French began te 
be crowned with success. 

169. After some small successes gained by the allied army a1 
Crevelt, the duke of Marlborough dying, his command devolved 
upon lord George Sackville, who was at that time a favourite 
with the English army. However, a misunderstanding arose 
between him and the commander in chief, which soon had an 
occasion of being displayed at the bnttle of Minden, which was 
fought soon after. The cause of this secret disgust on both 
sides is not clearly known ; it is thought that the extensive ge- 
nius, and the inquisitive spirit of the English general, were by 
no means agreeable to his superior in command, who hoped to 
reap some pecuniary advantages the other was unwilling to 
permit. 

160. Be this as it will, both armies advancing near the town 
of Minden, the French began the attack with great vigour, and 
a general engagement of the infantry ensued. Lord George, at 
the head of the British and Hanoverian horse, was stationed at 
some distance on the right of the infantry, from which they 
were divided by a scanty wood, that bordered on a heath. 
The French infantry giving ground, the prince thought that 
this would be a favourable opportunity to pour down the horse 
among them, and accordingly sent lord George orders to 
come on. 

161. These orders were but ill obeyed ; and whether they 
were .unintelligible, or contradictory, still remams a point for 
posterity to debate upon. It is certain, that lord George shortly 
after was recalled, tried by a court martial, found guilty, and de- 
clared incapable of serving in any military command for the 
future. The enemy, however, were repulsed in all their 
attacks with considerable loss, and at length giving way, were 
pursued to the very ramparts of Minden. The victory was 
splendid, but laurels were the only advantage reaped from the 
field of battle. 

162. After these victories, which were greatly magnified in 
England, it was supposed that one reinforcement more of British 
troops would terminate the war in favour of the allies, and a 
reinforcement was quickly sent. The British army in Germany 
now, therefore, amounted to above thirty thousand men, and the 
whole naiion was tlushed with the hopes of immediate conquest. 
But these hopes soon vanished in finding victory and defeat suc- 
cessively follow each other. The allies were worsted at Cor- 
bach ; but retrieved their honour at Exdorf. 

163. A victory at Warborougli followed shortly after, and 
another at Zierenbergh ; but then they suffered a defeat at 
Cempen, after vvhich botli sides v^ent into winter quarters 



Ohap. 55. GEORGE IT. 249 

The successes thus on either side, might be considered as a com- 
pact by which both engaged to lose much and gain little ; for no 
advantages whatever followed from victory. The English at 
length began to open their eyes to their own interest, and found 
that they were waging unequal war, and loading themselves 
with taxes for conquests that they could neither preserve nor 
enjoy. 

J 64. It must be confessed, that the effort* of England at this 
time, over every part of the globe, were amazing ; and the ex- 
pense of her operations greater than had ever been disbursed. by 
any nation before. The king of Prussia received a subsidy ; a 
large body of English forces commanded the extensive peninsula 
of India ; another army of twenty thousand men confirmed their 
conquests in North America ; there were thirty thousand men 
employed in Germany, and several other bodies dispersed in 
the different garrisons in vnrious parts of the world ; but all 
these were nothing to the force maintained at sea, which carri- 
ed command wherever it came, and had totally annihilated the 
French power on that element. 

1G5. The courage and the conduct of the English admirals 
had surpassed whatever had been read of in history ; neither su- 
perior force, nor number, nor even the terrors of the tempest, 
could intimidate them. Admiral Hawke gained a complete vic- 
tory over an equal number of French ships on the coast of Bre- 
tagne, in Quiberon bay, in the midst of a tempest during the 
darkness of the night, and what a seaman fears still more, upon 
A rocky shore. 

1G6. Such was the glorious figure the British nation ap- 
peared in to all the world at this time. But while their arm$ 
prospered in every effort tending to the real interest of the na- 
tion, an event happened, which for awhile obscured the splen- 
dour of her victories. On the twenty- fifth of October, the king, 
without having complained of any previous disorder, was found, 
by his domestics, expiring in bis chamber. He had risen at 

I" his usual hour, and observed to his attendants, that as the wea- 
ther was fine he would tfjke a walk in the gardens of Kensing- 
ton, where he then resided. 
1G7. In a few minutes after his return, being left alone, he 
was heard to fall down upon the floor. The noise of this bring- 
ing his attendants into the room, they lifted him into bed, where 
he desired, with a faint voice, that the princess Amelia might be 
sent for, but before she could reach the apartment he expired. 
An attempt was made to bleed him, but without effect ; and 
ifterwards the surgeons, upon opening him, discovered that the 
right ventricle of the heart was actually rtiptured, and that a 
great quantity of blood was discharged through the aperture. 

L 2 



260 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 35 , 

r\ f Q' 168. George the second died in the seventy-seventh 
j^^^„^*year of his age, and the thirty -third of his reign ; la- 
mented b}'^ his subjects, and in the midst of victory. If 
any monarch was happy in the peculiar mode of his death, and 
the precise time of its arrival, it was he. The universal enthu- 
siasm of the people for conquest was now beginning to subside, 
and sober reason to take her turn in the administration of affairs. 

169. The factions which had been nursing during his long 
reign, had not come to maturity; but threatened with all their 
virulence to afflict his successoi . He was, himself, of no shining 
abilities ; and while he was permitted to guide and assist his 
German dominions, he entrusted the care of Britain to his mi- 
nisters at home. However, as we stand too near to be impartial 
judges of his merits or defects, let us state his character, as de- 
livered by two writers of opposite opinions. 

170. " On whatever side," says the panegyrist, " we look up- 
on his character, we shall find ample matter for just and unsus- 
pected praise. None of his predecessors on the throne of Eng- 
land lived to so great an age, or enjoyed longer felicity. His 
subjects were still improving under him in commerce and arts ; 
and his own economy set a prudent example to the nation, 
which, however, they did not follow. He was in his temper 
sudden and violent; but this, though it influenced his conduct, 
made no change in his behaviour, which was generally guided 
by reason. 

171. "He was }>lain and direct in his intentions, true to his 
word, steady in his favour and protection to his servants, not 
parting even with his ministers till compelled to it by the v'iolence 
of faction. In short, through the whole of his life, he appeared 
rather to live for the cultivation of useful virtues than splendid 
ones ; and satisiied with being good, left others their unenviexl 
greatness." 

172. Such is the picture given by his friends, but there are 
others who reverse the mevdal. " As to the extent of his under- 
standing^ or the splendour of his virtue, we rather wish for op- 
portuniti ;s of praise, thaa undertake the task ourselves. His pub- 
lic character was marked with a predilection for his native coun- 
try, and to that he sacrificed all other considerations. He was 
not only unlearned himself, but he despised learning in others ; 
and though genius might have flourished in his reign, yet he nei- 
ther promoted it by his influence or example. 

173. " His frugality bordered upon avarice, and he hoarded not 
for his subjects, but himself. He was remarkable for no one 
great virtue, and was known to practise several of the meaner 
vices." Which of these two characters are true, or whether 
they may not in part be b^th so, 1 Aviil not pretend to decide. 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. Ul 

If his favourers are numerous, so are those who oppose them; 
let posterity, therefore, decide the contest. 



CHAPTER XXXVI.— George III. 

1. George the second was succeeded by his grandson, . p. 
king George the third, our present most gracious sove- |«^q* 
reign, whose flither never ascended the throne, having 

died while he was only prince of Wales. His majesty's first 
care, after his accession, was to assemble the parliament, which 
met in November, and settled the annual sum of 800,000/. upon 
the king, for the support of his household, and of the honour and 
dignity of his crown, or, as it is usually called, the civil list ; and 
this grant is to continae in force during his life. 

2. The whole supply for the service of the ensuing year, 
amounted to 19,616,119/. 195. 9f/. an immense sum, which none 
but a commercial nation could raise, but which yet, perhaps, was 
not greater than was absolutely necessary for carrying on the 
various operations of the very extensive war in which we were 
then engaged. 

3. As his majesty could not espouse a Roman Catholic, he was 
precluded from intermarrying into any of the great tamilies of 
Europe ; he, therefore, chose a wife from the house of Meck- 
lenburgh Strelitz, the head of a small but sovereign state in the 
northwest of Germany ; and the conduct of his excellent consort 
has hitherto been such as to give him no reason to repent of his 
choice. 

4. The nuptials were celebrated on the eighth of Sep- . j^ 
tember ; and the twenty-second of the same month, the /«-£.,* 
ceremony of the coronation was performed with great 
pomp and magnificence, in Westminster Abbey. 

5. This year was not distinguished by any capital military ope- 
Yation in Europe. In the East Indies the nabob of Bengal was 
deposed, and his son-in-law advanced in his room. That coun- 
try, like all other barbarous countries, is subject to sudden re- 
volutions, for which perhaps it is not more remarkable, than for 
the acts of cruelty, peculation, and oppression, that are there 
practised by the Europeans. 

6. Mr. Pitt, who, though never very acceptable to the late 
king, had conducted the war with a spirit and success that were 
never exceeded, and perhaps never equalled by any former mi- 
nister, was no less distinguished for his sagacity and penetration 
in diving into the designs and intrigues of the enemy. He had 
for some time observed, with the highest indignation, the ex- 
ti erne partiahty of the Spaniards towards the French, notwitli- 



252 HISTORY OF lilNGLAND. Chap. 36. 

standing their professioruB of neutrality ; he now discovered by 
means of his spies in foreign courts, that they had entered into 
a treaty (known by the nanne of the family compact) with that 
ambitious people ; and he was firmly convinced, that it would 
not be long before they declared war in form against England. 

7. Moved by these considerations, he proposed that a fleet 
should be immediately despatched into the Mediterranean, to in- 
tercept the Spanish flota, or strike some other blow of importance, 
in case the ministry of Spain refused to give instant satisfaction 
to the court of Great Britain. This proposal was strongly op- 
posed by the other members of the cabinet, either from a con- 
viction of its impropriety, or, perhaps, in order to get rid of a 
minister, who, by means of his popularity, and the success of his 
schemes, had acquired an ascendency in parliament, and even 
in the council, that, in some measure, annihilated the hereditary 
influence of all the oldest, most wealthy, and most powerful fa- 
milies in the kingdom. 

8. fo a word, it was disapproved by every member of the ca- 
binet, Mr. Pitt, and earl Temple excepted ; upon which these 
two ministers resigned tlieir places ; the former as secretary of 
state, and the latter as lord privy seal. That Mr. Pitt, however, 
might not be suffered to retire from the public service without 
some mark of royal as well as national gratitude, a pension of 
3000/. a year was settled upoit him for three lives ; and at the 
same time a title was conferred upon his lady, who was created 
baroness Chatham. 

9. The experience of a few months served to show that Mr. 
Pitt's suspicions were too well founded ; for when the earl of 
Bristol, the British ambassador at Madrid, endeavoured to pro- 
cure a sight of the family compact, and to sound the sentiments 
of the Spanish ministry, with regard to their intention of taking 
part with France in the present war, he received nothing but 
evasive answers or flat refusals to his demands. He therefore 
left Madrid without taking leave ; and, as the hostile designs of 
Spain were now no longer doubtful, war was, in a little time, de ' 
clared against that nation. 

10. The old parliament was now dissolved, and a new one 
summoned, one of the first acts of 'vhich was to settle an annuity 
of 100,OOOL together with the palace of Somerset house, (after- 
wards exchanged for Buckingham house,) and the lodge and 
lands of Piichmond old park, upon the queen during her life, in 
case she should survive his majesty. The supply for the ensu- 
ing year fell short of that of the current one by somewhat more 
than a million. 

11. Till the resignation of Mr. Pitt, no material change had 
been made in the ministry during the present reign. Iicontinu- 



Chap. 36. GEORGE 111. S6S 

ed nearly the same as it was at the death of the late king, with 
this only difference, that lord Bute (who was supposed to be a 
particular favourite of his majesty) had been introduced into thfr 
cabinet, and appointed secretary of state in the room of the earl 
of Holdernesse. A more important alteration, however, now 
took place in it. An opinion had been long entertained, . ^ 
at least it was industriously propagated by certain persons, '' 
that the Peiham family had been as complete masters of *" 
the cabinet during the latter years of king George the second's 
reign, as ever the Marlborough family was during a great part of 
that of queen Anne. 

12. A resolution, it is said, was therefore taken to get rid of 
the Pelhams and all their connexions. The duke of Newcastle 
was made so uneasy in his situation, that he resigned his post of 
first lord of the treasury, and was succeeded by the earl of Bute. 
This gave occasion to a most furious paper war, between the 
friends and adherents of these two noblemen, and naturally tend- 
ed to revive in the kingdom that spirit of party, which, during 
the successful administration of Mr. Pitt, had in a great measure 
been laid asleep. 

13. The duke of Newcastle, it must be owned, was not a man 
of great abilities, though Itis brother Henry Peiham, undoubted- 
ly was. But even the duke, with all the defects in his character, 
was perhaps not ill qualified to be a popular minister in a free 
country. He was open, liberal, disinterested, hospitable, splen- 
did, and magnificent in his style of living. 

14. Instead of amassing places and pensions for himself and 
his family, he laid out his own patrimony in supporting what he 
considered as the honour of the king and the dignity of the na- 
tion ; and when upon his retiring from office, in somewhat nar- 
row and reduced circumstances, he was offered a pension, he 
nobly replied, that after having spent a princely fortune in the 
service of his country, rather than become a burthen to it at last, 
he would make his old duchess a washer-woman. 

15. Lord Bute, on the other hand, (for now that the reign of 
prejudice is over, we may venture to speak the truth,) is certain- 
ly a man of ability, and we believe even of virtue : but perhaps 
he is deficient in thateasinessof address and those engaging man- 
ners, without which no minister can ever expect to be long popu- 
lar in England. As he is a man of taste and learning, had he 
continued groom of the stole, as he was at the time of his majes- 
ty's accession, he might easily have passed for the Maecenas of 
the age. 

16. Every favour which the king might have bestowed upon 
men of letters, would have been considered as originating from 
his s^dvice, and owing to his recommendation ; whereas by plung- 



254 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. SC. 

mg into politics, for which, as he was not bred to them, perhaps 
he is but ill qualified, he at once destroyed the peace of his own 
mind, diminished, for a while, the popularity of his sovereign, and 
distracted and perplexed the councils of his country. 

17. The war, however, was still carried on with the same 
spirit and success as formerly. A large body, whether of apoliti- 
cal or mechanical nature, .vhen once put in motion, will continue 
to move for some time even after the power which ongmally set 
it agoing had ceased to opeij-.te. Two expeditions were under- 
taken against the Spanish settlements ; the one against the Ha- 
vana in the Gulph of Mexico, the other against Manilla in the 
East Indies ; and both of them proved successful. The plunder 
found in the first amounted to three millions sterling. The lat- 
ter was ransomed for one million, which we believe was never 
paid. 

18. The king of Prussia, then our principal, and indeed almost 
our only ally, had performed such prodigies of valour in the 
course of tliis war, as will transmit his name to posterity as one 
of the geatest heroes that ever lived. For some time past, how- 
ever, he had been surrounded and assailed by such a number of 
powerful and inveterate foes, that he seemed almost to be totter- 
ing on the very brink of ruin, when he was unexpectedly and al- 
most miraculously saved by one of those sudden revolutions of 
fortune, that sometimes take place in all countries, and are often 
attended with consequences that no human sagacity could have 
foreseen, nor any human power have possibly brought about. 

19. Elizabeth, the empress ©f Russia, dying, was succeeded 
by her nephew, Peter the third, who not only concluded a peace 
with the king of Prussia, but joining his arms to those of that mo- 
narch, began to act hostilely against her former allies. By this 
step, however, and some others, he rendered himself so unpopu- 
lar with his subjects, that, after wearing the crown tor the space 
of six months, he v/as deposed, and soon after died in prison of 
the disease, it is thought, that terminates the lives of most de- 
throned monarchs. 

20. His consort and successor, Catharine, the present em- 
press, departed so far from the plan of her husband, as to with- 
draw her forces from those of the king of Prussia ; but she did 
not think proper to renew hostilities against him. Being thus 
freed from one of his most formidable enemies, he was the more 
capable of coping with the rest. 

21. This was one of the most glorious and successful wars for 
Great Britain, that had ever been carried on in any age, or by 
any nation. In the space of seven years, she had made herself 
mistress of the whole continent of North America ; she had con- 
quered twenty-five islands all of tliem remarkable for their mag- 



Chap. 36. GEORGE II!. ^ 255 

nitude, their produce, or the importance of their situation ; she 
had won, by sea and land, twelve great battles ; she had reduced 
nine fortified cities and towns, and near forty forts and castles ; 
she had destroyed or taken above a hundred ships of war from 
her enemies ; and acquired, as is supposed, about twelve millions 
in plunder. 

22. Uncommon, however, as were her successes, she was far 
from being averse to a peace. The grand object for which the 
war had been originally undertaken, the security of our Ameri- 
can colonies, was now fully accomplished. Her supplies of mo- 
ney, however great, were by no means equal to her expenses ; 
and she began to feel a sensible deficiency in her supplies of men, 
which were not procured but with some difficulty and at a heavy 
charge. 

23. The other belligerent powers, for more solid and sub- 
stantial reasons, were still more pacifically inclined. The navy 
of France was almost annihilated ; and her dominions were ex- 
hausted of men and money. Spain had nothing to hope, but 
every thing to fear, from a continuance of the war ; and Portu- 
gal, who had lately been drawn into the quarrel, and attacked by 
the Bourbon family, was in a still worse condition. 

24. All parties, therefore, concurring in these pacific . |-v 
sentiments, conferences for a peace were opened at Pa- ' .„ 
ris ; and, after some negotiation, it was finally concluded 

on the tenth day of February. Great Britain recived Florida i.'. 
exchange for the Havana. She retained Canada, Cape Breton 
Tobago, Dominica, St. Vincent,«th8 Grenadas, and Senegal on 
the coast of Africa ; but she restored all other conquests. 

25. A peace was soon after concluded between the empress 
queen of Hungary, and his Prussian majesty ; and thus the ge- 
neral tranquillity of Europe was happily re-estabhshed. At the 
conclusion of the war, the national debt of Great Britain amount- 
ed to about one hundred and forty-eight millions ; the annual in- 
terest to little less than five millions. 

26. The cry of favouritism, which was raised against lord Bute 
immediately upon his introduction into the ministry, had hither- 
to been kept up with great violence and animosity ; and a tax 
which had lately been imposed upon cider, served at last to com- 
plete his downfall. He resigned his place as first lord of the trea- 
sury in the month of April, and was succeeded by Mr. George 
Grenville. The attention of the public was now turned from 
the war of the sword to that of the pen. 

27. Many furious papers and pamphlets were published by the 
partizans of both parties. But one of the most furious of the 
whole, was a periodical paper, entitled the North Briton, con- 
ducted, it is said, and principally composed by Prlr. Wilkes, mem- 



556 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

ber for Aylesbury, a gentleman of wit and spirit ; but not per- 
haps of the most rigid principles, to which, as we believe he is 
no hypocrite, we never heard that he made any great preten* 
sions. 

28. This gentleman, having, in number forty-five of the North 
Briton, attacked the king's speech to the parliament with a very 
indecent freedom, the ministers thought they could not pass it 
over in silence. A general warrant was, therefore, issued for 
taking up the authors, printers, and publishers of that paper. 
Mr. Wilkes was seized and committed to the Tower. Several 
innocent printers were at the same time apprehended ; but they 
afterwards brought their actions against the messengers who had 
seized them, and recovered considerable damages. 

29. Mr. Wilkes too, upon bringing his habeas corpus before 
the court of common pleas, was released from the Tower by a 
decision of that court, the judges of which unanimously declared, 
that privilege of parliament extended to the case of writing a 
libel. The house of commons were of a different opinion. They 
resolved that number forty-five of the North Briton was a false, 
scandalous, and seditious libel, and that privilege of parliament 
did not extend to the case of writing such a libel. 

30. Soon after, Mr Wilkes fought a duel with Mr. Martin, a 
member of parliament, and late secretary to the treasury, whose 
character he had attacked in his writings. In this engagement, 
he received a dangerous wound, from which, however, he re- 
covered, and he had no sooner done so than he thought proper 
to retire mto France. 

» j-v 3 1 . In the month of January he was expelled t'he house 
1764' ^^ c<'™'^^^"'S ; and not appearing to the indictments pre- 
ferred agamst him for publishing the North Briton, and 
for some other charges, he was at last run to an outlawry ; and 
the suits, which he had commenced against the secretaries of 
»tate for false imprisonment, fell, of course, to the ground. Ge- 
neral warrants were afterwards declared to be illegal by a reso- 
lution of both houses ; and .this, indeed, seems to be the chief 
advantage resulting from this violent dispute between Mr. Wilkes 
and the ministry. 

32. In the course of this year the protestant interest was still 
further strengthened by the marriage of his majesty's eldest sis- 
ter, the princess Augusta, to the hereditary prince of Brunswick. 
About the same time a noble legacy was left to the University of 
Cambridge. Sir Jacob Gerard Downing bequeathed an estate 
of six thousand pounds a year for the purpose of building and en- 
dowing in it a new college. 

33. The legality of this bequest was afterwards disputed by '^ 
^he heir at law. but a decision was given in favour of the uni- J 

i 



>bap. 36. GEORGE III. 267 

rersity. Whether the immense wealth oi our two universities 
)e conducive to the mterest of learning, is a question that has 
ong been agitated, and cannot perhaps be easily solved. 

34. That great riches naturally tend to beget and encourage 
spirit of indolence cannot be denied ; though at the same time, 

)y furnishing men of abilities with literary leisure, and freeing" 
hem from the care« and anxieties of life, they afford them the 
inest opportunities of prosecuting their studies, unchecked by 
iny other impediment than the limited powers of the human 
nind, and that languor, which, even in the most ardent and vi- 
gorous spirits, is ihe infallible consequence of long applica- 
ion. 

35. Little happened in the other parts of the world this year, 
hat deserves to be mentioned in a history of England, except 
he choice of a king of Poland in the person of count Poniatow- 
ki, a native Pole ; the death of prince Ivan, or John, who in 
1739 had mounted the throne of Russia, and was soon after de- 
posed, had remained in prison ever since, and was now murder- 
id by his guards ; and the massacre of about forty of our own 
;ountrymen in the East Indies, by order of Cossim Ali Cawn, the 
leposed subah of Beng;d, and under the direction of one Somers, 

German, a deserter from the company's service. 

36. Such scenes of cruelty may naturally be supposed to hap 
pen sometimes in a country, where the natives are ignorant and 
barbarous, and the strangers, or, us they call them, the intruders, 
ire actuated by an insatiable spirit of plunder and rapacity. 

37. In the beginning of next year were kindled the . j^ 
irst sparks of that fire, which, though it did not blaze out |«gt' 
ill at once, and might even have been extinguished in its 
progress, yet, in a little time after, broke out into a conflagr»- 
ion, that wrapt a great part of Europe, and all North America 
in its flames. What I allude to is the suimp act, that was now 
mposed upon oar American colonies, and to which they almost 
imanimously refused to submit ; and though it was repealed in 
the succeeding session, yet the memory of it conlinced to rankle 
in their minds ; and they seem never entirely to have forgot, nor 
heartily to have forgiven it. 

38. The spirit of party which was now so general as well as 
violent, was attended with one very great inconvenience. It 
was productive of such a mutabdity in public men, and conse- 
quently in public measures and councils, that we had a new mi- 
nistry, and new measures almost with every new year. 

39. This naturally tended to weaken the authority of govern- 
ment both at home and abroad. Foreign nations were averse 
to enter into any close connexion or alliance with a people, 
whose public councils were so very fluctuating ; and the inf«- 



258 HISTORY OF ENGLAND Chap. 3^ { 

h I 

rior ranks of men at home lost all that reverence and respect 
for their rulers which is so necessary to the support of order j 
and good government. :i 

40. The Grenville ad ministration was now forced to make* 
way for that of the marquis of Ilockingham, who was appointed] 
first lord of the treasury in the room of Mr. Grenville. The] 
anarquis himself, indeed, was a nobleman of as much purity of] 
intention, of as disinterested principles, and of as genuine and] 
unaffected patriotism, as ever distinguished any minister eitheii 
in ancient or modern times ; and by these good qualities of hisf 
{leart, he, in some measure, compensated for that mediocrity off 
understanding, beyond which even his warmest admirers never' 
alleged that his capacity extended. 

41. The chief business of this ministry was to undo all thati 
their predecessors had done, particularly repealing the stamp/ 
and cider acts ; as, on the other hand, all that they now did,i 
was, in its turn, undone by their successors in office. The de«4 
tached events of this year were neither numerous nor important ; ' 
it was chiefly distinguished by the death of some eminent per- 
sonages ; particularly of the emperor of Germany, who was suc-i 
::eeded by his son Joseph, the late emperor; the dauphin of] 
France ; his majesty's uncle, the late duke of Cumberland ; his I 
youngest brother, prince William Frederick ; and the old pre- I 
tender, who died at Rome in the 77th year of his age. 

. j^ 42. The new year, as usual, gave us a new set of mi- \ 
' * ' nisters. The duke of Grafton succeeded the marquis of 
' Rockingham as first lord of the treasury ; several other 
changes were made in the inferior departments of state ; and the 
custody of the privy seal was bestowed upon Mr. Pitt, now crea- 
ted earl of Chatham, at whose recommendation, it is said, this 
ministry was formed. The affairs of the East India company, 
were at this time greatly embarrased by the avarice arid rapaci- 
ty of their servants ; vices, indeed, which they had always prac-, 
tised, but which they seem now to have carried to a greater! 
height than ever. 

43. Under the specious pretence of presents, they had got 
into the habit t)f extorting large sums from the princes of the 
country, by which means the very name of an Englishman was 
become so odious, that it was greatly to be feared a general 
combination of the natives would be formed to expel us from 
ogr settlements in that part of the world. Lord Chve, there- 
fore, was sent out to India, in order to put a stop to this growing 
evil, which upon his arrival there, he effectually did ; and soon 
afer concluded such an advantageous treaty with the mogul, as 
put the company in possession of a clear revenue of one million 
seven hundred thousand j-ouads sterling a year. 



.r 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 259 

44. His lordship, himself, it is true, had made as large a for- 
hine in the East Indies, as perhaps ever was made there by any 
British or European subject ; but at the same time in so doing 
he had performed the most distinguished and important servi- 
ces to his country ; others, and some of them, sprung from the 
very lowest ranks of life, have amassed princely fortunes in that 
part of the world ; the services they have done either to their 
country, or to the East India company, are yet to be disco- 
vered. 

45. As the American war is the most important event * y. 
that has yet happened in the course of this reign, or will ,«/>r. ' 
probably happen during the remaining part of it, no cir- '* 
cu instance, however seemingly trivial, that serves to mark the 
progress of the growing animosity between the mother country 
md her colonies, ought to be passed over in silence. For this 
reason it is that we shall just observe, an act of parliament had 
been lately made, enjoinmg the colonies to furnish his majesty's 
troopsvvith necessaries in their quarters. 

46. This act the colony of New-York had refused to obey ; 
and another act was now therefore passed, restraining the assem- 
bly of that province, from making any laws until they had com- 
plied with the terms of the tirst mentioned statute. The Ame- 
ricans, on their side, expressed their dissatisfaction at this re- 
straint by coming to some severe resolutions against the impor- 
tation of European, by which they no doubt meant British com- 
modities. 

47. A surprising phenomenon happened this year in Italy, 
which, though not connected with the history of England, nor 
even the civil history of an}^ country, it would yet be unpardon- 
able to pass over unnoticed. On the nineteenth of October there 
was one of the most terrible eruptions of mount Vesuvius that 
had been known in the memory of man. Stones of an enormous 
size were thrown up from the mouth of the volcano to the height, 
it is said, of an English mile, and fell at least half a mile from it. 

48. The lava, or river of melted ore, extended in length about 
seven miles ; its breadth, in some places, was two miles ; and its 
depth in general about forty feet. The king of Sicily was oblig- 
ed to remove from Portici to Naples ; and the ashes fell in such 
quantities even in this last city, as to cover the streets and houses 
more than an inch deep. 

49. The natural date of the present parliament being . ^ 
now near expiring, it was dissolved in the spring, and writs . * * 
Avere issued for electing a new one. A general election 

is always supposed to be a time of riot and confusion ; and con- 
sidering the violence of parties at this particular period, it was 
generally apprehended, that the present election would be pro- 



260 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

tjuctive of more than ordinary disturbance. These fears, how- 
ever, were happily disappointed. 

50. The elections were carried on with tolerable order ii 
most parts of the kingdom, except at Preston and a few othei 
places, where some outrages were committed. Mr. Wilkes, wh( 
had remained abroad an outlaw ever since the year 1763, no^ 
returned home, and even while the outlawry was in full force 
offered himself a candidate for the county of Middlesex, for whicl 
he was chosen in opposition to sir William Beauchamp Proctor 
one of the former members, by a very great majority. 

61. Great doubts were at first entertained whether an outlav 
could be chosen a member of parliament ; but so many prece 
dents were produced in the affirmative, that the legality of th« 
practice was put beyond controversy. Being now secure, as h< 
thought, of a seat in parliament, Mr. Wilkes surrendered himsel 
to the court of king's bench, by whom the outlawry was revers 
ed, and he was sentenced to suffer an imprisonment of two years 
and to pay a fine of a thousand pounds. 

52. As he was esteemed by many persons as a kind of martyr 
in the cause of public liberty, a subscription was opened by some 
merchants of London, and other gentlemen of property, for pay- 1 
ing his fine, supporting him while in prison, and compounding 
his debts, amounting to above twenty thousand pounds ; and all 
these purposes were, in the end, completely accomplished. 

53. As we consider the Middlesex election and the feuds and 
animosities which it excited in the nation, though not as the prt 
mary, yet as the great secondary cause of the American war, w« 
shall be particularly attentive to every circumstance relating t< 
that singular transaction, and even to Mr. Wilkes, the principa 
agent concerned m it. 

54. This, indeed, is the great hinge upon which the politica 
events of the present reign for , many years turned ; it is thai 
which gave occasion to sudden changes of ministers, and dange- 
rous resolutions of parliament, that would never else have taker 
place ; and it encouraged our foreign dependencies to take advan 
tage of our internal divisions, and the consequent weakness anc 
unpopularity of government, by laying claim to several privile- 
ges and immunities, to which they would otherwise have nevei 
dared to pretend. 

55. Indeed the poisonous seeds which it sowed, or at least, 
ripened and matured, have not yet perhaps yielded their fulj 
harvest of national calamity ; nor can any one take upon him to 
eay how fatally extensive that harvest may prove, till the diffe- 
rences in point of trade and commerce subsisting between Greal 
jSritain and Ireland are finrdly adjusted. 

^6. This year his m-ajesty established the Royal Academy o 



;hap. 36. GEORGE III. 261 

lfIs, for instructing young men in the principles of architecture^ 
2ulpture, and painting. The artists had, long before this, form- 
d themselves into a society, and had carried their respective 
rts to a very high degree of perfection under the patronage of 
le public. The new intitution, therefore, had, for some time, 
ttle other effect than to split the artists into parties. At last, 
owever, they were happily reunited. 

67. Fresh fuel still continued to be added to the flame that now 
egan to blaze out between Great Britnin and her American co- 
mies. By an act of parliament lately passed, certain duties 
ere imposed upon glass, paper, and a few other articles im- 
orted from England into the colonies ; and for the purpose of 
ollecting these duties, custom-houses were established in their 
3a ports. Provoked at this invasion of their liberties, as they 
onsidered it, they now came to a direct, as they had formerly 
one to an indirect, resolution to discontinue the use of British 
ommodities until these duties should be repealed ; to effect 
'hich, the assembly of Boston wrote circular letters to all the 
ther assemblies, proposing an union of councils and measures. 

58. For this step the assembly of Boston was dissolved and a 
ew one convened, but this proved as refractory as the former, 
nd was, therefore, in a little time, likewise dissolved. The 
Dmmissioners of the customs were so roughly handled by the 
opulace, that they thought proper to leave the town, and re- 
re to fort William. In a word, the spirit of discontent became 
) prevalent at Boston, that two regiments of foot were ordered 
lither from Halifax, and as many from Ireland. A new pheno- 
lenon appeared in Asia. One Hyder Ally, who had raised him- 
2lf from the rank of a common seapoy to that of a sovereign 
rince, commenced hostilities against the East India company, and , 
ithe course of his reign, gave greater disturbance to our settle- 
lents there than any of the old and hereditary nabobs. 

59. When the new parliament met, the people imagined that 
Ir. Wilkes would take his seat along with the other members, 
a expectation of this many of them assembled in St. George's 
'ields, near the king's bench prison, where he was confined, with 

view of conducting him to the house of commons. The Surry 
istices soon came among them, and the riot act was read, but 
tie people not dispersing, the military was called in, and were 
rdered, perhaps unadvisedly, to fire. Several persons were 
lightly wounded, two or three mortally, and one was killed on 
be spot. 

60. Lord Weymouth, one of the secretaries of state, sent a 
etter to the justices, thanking them for their spirited con- . j. 
luct in this affair. Mr. Wilkes, who was no incurious, , w/»q 
loj we may believe, unconcerned spectator of the whole 



262 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Cnap. sc? 

scene, took this opportunity of expressing his resentment against 
the ministry, whom he regarded as the authors of all the perse 
cutions he had suffered. He published lord Weymouth's letler, 
with a few remarks of his own pretixed to it, in which he termed 
the affair of St. George's Fields a horrid massacre ; and this step 
was either considered as a reason, or was made a pretence for 
expelling him the house. 

61. The freeholders of Middlesex, however, seem to have 
been of a very different opinion from the commons ; for they 
immediately and unanimously re-elected him their representa- 
tive. This election was declared void, and a new writ was is-, 
sued. The freeholders still persevered in their former senti- 
ments ; and Mr. Wilkes was elected a third time without oppo- 
sition. A gentleman, indeed, of the name of Dingley , intended to; 
have opposed him ; but the popular current ran so strong in fa-« 
vour of Mr. Wilkes, that he could not find a single person to put; 
him in nomination. 

62. This election was declared void, as well as the preceding ; 
and lest the freeholders of Middlesex and the house of commons 
should go on for ever, the one in electing Mr. Wilkes, and the 
other in declaring his election invalid, colonel Luttrel, son to 
lord Irnham, and a member of parliament, was persuaded to va*- 
cate his peat by the acceptance of a nominal place, and to offer 
himself a candidate. He did so ; and though he had only two 
hundred and ninety-six votes, and Mr. Wilkes eleven hundred 
and forty-three, yet he was declared in the house, by a great 
majority, to be the legal member. 

63. This was considered as a fatal blow to the liberties of the 
people ; at least to the right of election, the most vital and es- 
sential part of those liberties. This poured poison into the po- 
litical wound, that rendered it perfectly incurable. The Mid- 
dlesex election may hitherto be regarded merely as a common 
controverted election, in which none but Mr. Wilkes and his 
opponents were concerned. From this time forward it assumed 
a more dignified air, a more important aspect. Instead of a pri-, 
vate it became a national concern. The whole body of the peo- 
ple took the alarm. 

64. They thought they foresaw, in the destruction of the rights 
of the freeholders of Middlesex, the utter ruin and subversion of 
their own. The consequence was, that petitions first, and re- 
monstrances afterwards, poured in from the different counties 
and corporations of the kingdom. Many of these were of a very 
bold, and, as some thought, of a most daring nature. They not 
only prayed for a dissolution of parliament, but they even denied i 
the legality of the present one, the validity of its acts, and the 



i 



^hap. 36. GLOKGE III. 203 

bligation of the people to obey them. In a word, they asserted 
lat the government was actually dissolved. 

65. The ministry had now brought themselves into a a rj 
lost disagreeable dilemma. They ought either not to have - * ^ 
roceeded so far, or they ought to have gone further. 

'hey ought eithernot have furnished the people with a just cause, 
r even with a plausible pretence, for presenting such remon- 
rances, or they ought to have punished them for daring to pre- 
mt them. This, howevei, they did not think it prudent, nor 
erhaps even safe to attempt. 

66. The consequence is obvious. Vv'hile the authority of go- 
srnment was thus vilified and despised at home, can it be ima- 
ned that it should be much reverenced or respected abroad ? 
'hile it was openly insulted and browbeat in the very metropo- 
3, and under the eye of the legislature, could it be expected 
lat it should be able to maintain its usual force and vigour in the 
ftrcme parts of the empire ? The supposition is absurd. 

67. He, therefore, who does not perceive, in the rashness and 
isillanimiLy of the ministers, with regard to the Middlesex elec- 
on, the seeds of the American war, and even the origin of those 
5ld claims which the Irish have for some time past been making 
id still continue to make, must be furnished with opticsof avery 
ngular, and, in our opinion, a very unnatural structure. Some 
' the freeholders of Middlesex even attempted to carry their 
>eculative principles on this subject into practice. 

68. They refused to pay the land tax ; and the matter was 
ought to a trial. But the jury determined, that they were 
)liged to pa.y it ; and, in so doing, they discovered more firm- 
}ss and fortitude than their rulers. This, however, was but a 
)or compensation for the want of courage and consistancy in 
iC ministers. It was like endeavouring to support a mighty 
•ch with a feeble buttress, when the keystone, that held it to- 
sther, was removed. 

69. In the course of this year a very important act was passed 
r regulating the proceedings of the house of commons in con- 
overted elections. These used formerly to be determined by 
e house at large, and by a mijority of votes, so that they were 
)nsidered merely as party matters, and the strongest party, 
hich was always that of the ministry, was sure to carry the 
)int without paying the least regard to the merits of the ques- 
)n on either side. 

70. But by the bill which was now passed, commonly called 
16 Grenville act, as it was drawn up and brought in by Mr 
renville, they were ordered for the future to be decided by a 
)mmittee of thirteen members, chosen by lot, and under the sa- 
'ed obligation of an oath ; and since the enacting of this law, 



2b4 MIS 1 UK I Ur HiiNLrLiAiN U. IJIiap. <iKfJ 

no well jEfroimded complaint has been made against the imparl 
tiality of the decisions. 

71. Though the present ministry was supposed to have been 
originally recommended to his majesty by lord Chatham, and to 
have been guided for some time, in all their measures, by his 
advice, yet, as they had of late affected to stand upon their own 
bottom, and neglected to consult him as usual, he entirely aban- 
doned them, and resigned his office as keeper of the privy seal, 
which was bestowed on the earl of Bristol. 

72. His example was soon after followed by the duke of Graf- 
ion, who was succeeded as first lord of the treasury by lord 
North ; and thus, unhappily for the nation, was formed that mi- 
nistry, which began the American war without necessity, con- 
ducted it without spirit or prudence, and, at last, concluded it with- 
out honour or advantage, nay with infinite dishonour and disad- 
vantage, as they cut off from the empire the immense continent 
of North America, the brightest jewel in the crown. 

73. This year our ministers gave a fresh proof of their pusil- 
lanimity, with regard to foreign politics, as they had already done 
with respect to our domestic concerns. They quietly suffered 
the French to make a conquest of Corsica, a small island in tlie 
Mediterranean. This island had formerly belonged to the Ge- 
noese, who, by their cruelty and oppression, had driven the na- 
tives into a revolt, which they kept up for some time with grea 
spirit and perseverance, under the conduct of their gallant coun 
tryman Paoli, and at last freed themselves from the dominion oJ 
their tyrannical masters. 

74. These last, therefore, unable to recover the island them- 
selves, made it over to the French, who soon subdued it ; though 
not, it is said, till it had cost them more than its real value. They 
lost in this undertaking ten thousand men, and they expended 
eighteen millions of livres. Many people thought the Englisl 
ought to have opposed this addition, however small, to the Frencl 
monarchy ; but our ministers were so weak and so unpopular 
and the growing quarrel between this country and America be 
came every day so much more alarming, that their maxim atthi 
time, with regard to foreign nations, seems to have been — let u 
alone, and we will let you alone. 

75. The French, however, soon after showed them that thei 
conduct was directed by very different maxims. About the sam 
lime a rupture had like to have happened between this countr 
and Spain, about a very insignificant place, called Falkland's isl 
and, in the southern part of the Atlantic ocean. Matters fo 
some time, wore a very hostile aspect ; but at last the quarry 
was amicably adjusted. 

t'i 

ii 



^tiap. oJt). ULUlHj^t> 111. 266 

76. As the waves of the sea continue to be agitated for some 
time, even after the storm that raised them has been laid ; . -^ 
so the Middlesex election, though the spirit of petitioning * 
had in some measure subsided, still gave rise to some sin- 
gular occurrences that are well worthy of notice. A messenger 
of the house of commons, having come into the city to seize a 
printer for publishing the speeches of the members, this last sent 
for a constable, who carried both him and the messenger before 
Rifr. Crosby, the lord mayor. 

77. That gentleman, together with the aldermen Wilkes and 
Oliver, not only discharged the printer, but required the mes- 
Benger to give bail to answer the complaint of the printer against 
liim, for daring to seize him in the city without the order of a 
magistrate ; and upon his refusing to do so, they signed a war- 
rant for his commitment to prison ; upon which he consented to 
^ive bail, and was suffered to depart. The commons, tired at 
his contempt of their authority, as they thought it, ordered the 
ord mayor and the two aldermen to appear before them. 

78. Mr. Crosby and Mr. Oliver, as members of the house, at- 
ended in their place ; but Mr. Wilkes refused to appear, unless 
le was permitted to take his seat for Middlesex As they had 
10 method of coming at the latter gentleman, they contented 
hemselves v/ith punishing the two former. They were accord- 
ngly sent to the Tower, where they continued in confinement 
ill the end of the session. This year a dreadful famine happea- 
id in the East Indies, which, according to some accounts, carri- 
;d off about one-third of the inhabitants, that is, about ten mil- 
ions of people. 

79; This scourge of Heaven is said to have been still further 
xasperated by the villany of man. Many of the company's ser- 
ants were accused of having bought up the greatest part of the 
ice, (the chief or almost the only food of the natives, as the Py- 
tiagorean system, which they follow, prohibits them the use of 
nimal food,) and to have sold it out at such an exhorbitant price, 
s to put it absolutely beyond the reach of the poorer sort of the 
eople. 

80, Elective kingdoms are subject to such violent shocks and 
pnvulsions upon every vacancy of the thrc.e, that it has been 
iiought proper, in most of the modern states of Europe, to es- 
liblish hereditary monarchies ; and even in these last a disputed 
Itle is always attended with such civil wars and bloodshed, that 

has been found expedient to keep the line of succession as clear 
hd distinct as possible. This is the reason why so much attea 
ion is given in this country to the marriages of the royal family 

81. The king's two brothers the dukes of Gloucester and 

M 



Z66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND^ (Jhap. 5(!l. 

. -p. Cumberland, having married privately, the former, the j 
1 779 * countess dowager ofWaldegrave, the latter, a widow lady ] 

* of the name of Horton, daughter to lord Irnham, a bill 
was now passed, enacting, that all the descendants of his late ma- 
jesty, (other than the issue of princesses who have married, or 
may hereafter marry into foreign families,) shall be incapable of 
contracting marriage without the previous consent of the king or 
his successors on the throne, signified under the great seal, and 
declared in the council, that every such marriage, without such 
consent, shall be null and void. 

82. That, nevertheless, such descendants, being above the 
age of twenty-five years, upon their giving the privy council 
twelve months previous notice of their design, may, after the ex- 
piration of that term, enter into marriige with the royal consent, 
unless both houses of parliament shall within that time expressly 
declare their disapprobation of it ; and that all persons, who shall 
knowingly pre^Mme to solemnize, or assist at the celebration of 
such illicit marriage, shall be liable to all the pains and penalties 
of the statute of praemunire. 

83. In the course of this session a materi:i.l alteration was made 
in the criminal law of the kingdom. Formerly, when a felon 
Tefused to plead, he was stretched out upon his back at full length, 
and a heavy weight laid upon his breast, which was gradually, 
though slowly, increased till he expired ; during which opera- 
tion he was fed with nothing but a crust of bread and some dirty 
water. By a bill, which was now passed, this barbarous prac- 
tice was abolished, and all felons refusing to plead are adjudged j 
to be guilty of the crimes laid to their charge. 

84. An act of injustice was committed this year by three of' 
the first crowned heads in Europe, which, though not immediate- 
ly connected with the history of England, ought not to be passedj 
over in silence. It was indeed of so flagrant and atrocious a na-j 
ture, that, for a similar one in private life, the authors wouU 
have been brought to condign punishment. 

86. What I allude to is the dismemberment of Poland. Th< 
emperor of Germany, the king of Prussia, and the empress oi 
Russia, entered into a confederacy, or rather a conspiracy, (fori 
most villanous conspiracy it was,) to divide among themselveij 
the better part of that fertile country, to which they trumped u\ 
some old antiquated claims ; and to form the rest into an inde^ 
I>endent kingdom, to be governed by the present sovereign, witi 
a hereditary, instead of an elective title ; and as none of the othef 
powers of Europe thought proper to interrupt them in the prose- 
cution of their scheme, they were at last fully able to accomphsli 
their purpose. 

86. This year was likewise distinguished by a remarkable re* 



CTiap. 36. GEOKGK III. 267 

Tolution in the government of Sweden, as well as that of Den- 
mark. The king of Sweden, in vioh\tion of the mostsacred en^ 
gagements he had come under at his accession, raised himself, 
from being the most Hmited, to be one of the most absolute mo- 
narchs in Europe. In Denmark, the king was deprived of the, 
whole sovereign power, which was engrossed by his mother-in 
law, the queen dowager, and his half-brother, prince Frederick. 

87. His two principal favourites, the counts Struensee and 
Brandt, were brought to the block. Even the queen consort, 
Matilda, sister to his Britannic majesty, very narrowly escaped 
with her life. She afterwards retired to Zell in Germany, where 
she lived for a few years, at the end of which she sickened and 
died. 

88. To give some check to the rapacity of the East India com- 
pany's servants abroad, a supreme court of judicature was nov^ 
established at Bengal, consisting of a chief-justice, with a salary 
of eight thousand pounds, and three inferior judges with a salary 
of six thousand pounds ; but whether this insitution will produce 
the happy effects intended by it, will require, perhaps, a longer 
time to determine than has yet elapsed. 

89. About this time the common people of Ireland and . j^ 
in the north of Scotland, w^ere so cruelly harrassed by 
their unfeehng landlords, %vho raised the rent of their 

land upon them without considering whether they could pay it, 
that they emigrated in great numbers to America ; and of these, 
it is said, was principall}^ composed that army, which iirst began 
the war in that part of the world, conducted it with such spirit 
and perseverance, and did not concludetill they had rendered 
themselves and their new adopted country independent of their 
old masters. Oppressed subjects, when driven to extremity, be- 
come the most dangerous and inveterate foes ; they are actuated 
by a spirit of revenge against their former tyrants, which can- 
not be supposed to iniluence the natives of a foreign country. 

90. This year captain Phipps, in the Sea-horse, and captain 
Lutwidge in the Carcase, were sent out by the government, m 
order to examine whether there was a possibility of discovering 
either a northeast or a northwest passage to the East Indies ; 
but after sailing to the latitude of eighty-one degrees thirty-nine 
minutes, they were prevented by the mountains, or rather the 
islands of ice, they met with, from proceeding any further, and 
they therefore returned home without being able to accomplish 
their purpose. 

91. This reign, indeed, seems for some years past, to have 
been particularly distinguished by the spirit of adventure. Four 
different voyages have been performed round the world, for the 
•imilar purpose for making discoveries in the South-sea ; the first 



268 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36 

by commodore Byron ; the second, by captain VVallis ; the third, 
by captain Carteret ; and the fourth, by captain Cook ; and none 
of them have entirely failed in the object of their destination ; 
each of the circumnavigators having either found out some new 
countries, or something new in the manners of those that were 
already kjnown. 

92. Captain Cook, indeed, performed a second voyage round 
the world ; and was actually engaged in sailing round it a third 
time, when to the infinite regret of all lovers of real merit, he 
was cut off in a scuffle with the inhabitants of one of the new dis- 
covered islands in the South sea, called Oxvyhee. 

93. The great subject of dispute between the mother country 
and her American colonies, was the right of taxation. The par- 
liament of Great Britain insisted upon its right of taxing them by 
it own proper authority. The colonies denied this right, and 
said that they could riot be legally taxed without their own con- 
sent ; and rather than submit to any taxes otherwise imposed, 
they seemed willing to encounter every danger, and to risk every 
extremity. 

94. In order, however, to try their temper, and see whether 
they would put their threats in practice, some tea was sent out 
to America, loaded with a certain duty. This tea was not only 
not suffered to be landed, but was sent back to England with the 
utmost contempt and indignation. In the harbour of Boston it met 
with a still worse reception. It was taken out of the ships by 
the populace, and thrown into the sea. 

i^ j-v 95. To punish the Ncw-Englanders for this act of vio- 
'„ , * lence, two bills were now passed; one for shutting up j 
the port of Boston ; and the other for taking the execu- j 
tive power out of the hands of the people and vesting it in the 
crown. Though the minister had hitherto carried every thing 
in parliament with a high hand, yet, as that assembly was now 
'Vsiwing towards an end, he began to be apprehensive that it 
would not be easy to procure another house of commons equally 
obsequious, if the people were allowed to be prepared for the 
elections in the usual manner. 

96. He therefore resolved to steal a march upon his antago- 
nists, and to take the people by surprise. The parliament was 
accordingly suddenly dissolved at the end of the sixth session, 
and a nevy one was chosen equally courtly and complaisant with 
the former. 

97. The acts of severity we have mentioned above, were le- 
velled, in appearance, only at the town of Boston ; yet most o£ 
the other colonies soon took the alarm. They thought they saw, 
in the fate of that devoted town, the punishment that might sooq 
be inflicted on themselves, as they had all been guilty of nearly 



•Ctap. 36. • GEORGE III. 269 

the same crime, if not in destroying, at least m refusing the 
tea. 

98. They, therefore, resolved lo make one common cause with 
Ihe people of New- England ; and accord indy all the old Britisli 
colonies, (Nova Scotia and Georgia excepted.) sent delegates or 
commissioners to a general assembly, which met at Philadelphia, 
and assuming the name of the Congress, presented a bold and 
spirited remonstrance to his majesty, soliciting a redress of griev- 
ances. Georgia, the year following, acceeded to the union, and 
thus completed the num.ber of the thirteen imited provinces 
which, soon after, revolted from the mother country, and at last 
rendered themselves sovereign and independent states. 

99. The congress, not njitistied with their remonstrance to the 
king, exhorted the New-Englandcrs to oppose the execution of 
the Boston port bill, and of the other severe acts that hnd been 
lately passed against them, and tliey even promised to assist them 
in case of necessity. To this, indeed, that people were suflicif nt- 
ly disposed by their natural temper, as, of all the America co- 
lonies, New-England was perhaps the province, which from its 
independent spirit in religion, had longest cherished the wish, 
and even entertained the hopes, of becoming independent in go- 
vernment. 

100. The fire, therefore, which had been so long smouldering 
between Great Britain and her colonies, now broke out into an 
open flame. General Gage, governor of Mjissachusetts bay , hear- 
ing that the provincials had collected a quantity of military stores, 
at a place called Concord, sent out a dettichment in order to de- 
stroy them. This detachment met a company of militia at Lex- 
ington, about six miles from Concord, between whom and the 
king's forces a few shots were exchau;^ed, by which eight pi*o- 
vrncials were killed, and several wounded. 

101. The detachment then went on, without any further in- 
terruption, to Concord, where they destiuyed the stores; but 
in their return from thence they were suddenly attacked by a 
large bodj-^ of provincials, who h;;rrassed them most terribly until 
they reached Boston. In this action the king's troops lost, in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, two hundred and seventy-three 
men, of which sixty-live were killed. The loss of the provin- 
cials amounted to about forty killed and twenty wounded. 

102. The news of this engagement was no sooner carried into 
the- different parts of the country than the whole province was 
at once in arms, and Boston was, in a few days, invested by a 
body of militia, amounting, it is said, to twenty thousand men. 
The congress too, upon hearing of the alTair of Lexington and 
the blockade of Boston, heartily approved of all the steps which 
the Ne\i-Englanders had taken ; and they passed ;i resolution, de 



270 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

daring, that the compact between the crown and the people of 
Massachusetts Bay was dissolved. 

103. They strictly prohibited the people from supplying the 
army, the navy, or the transport ships, with any kind of provi- 
sions. The more effectually to mark their contempt for the 
British government, they erected a post-office, at the head of 
which they placed Dr. Franklin, who had been disgracefully re- 
moved from the post in England ; and upon general Gage pub- 
lishing a proclamation, offering a pardon to all such as should lay 
down their arms and return to their duty, but excepting from it 
Messrs. Hancock and Adams, they immediately chose Mr. Han- 
cock president of the congress. 

. j^ 104. As matters had now been carried too far to admit 
. * p. * of any immediate reconciliation, it was generally imagined 
that each party would watch an opportunity of striking 
some blow that might give it a decisive advantage over the other. 
Nor was it long before it appeared that this apprehension was 
but too well founded. Tlierc is an eminence called Bunker's 
Hill, upon a narrow neck of land or isthmus, in the neighbour 
hood of Boston. 

105. Upon this hill the provmcials threw up, in one of the 
short nights of June, a strong redoubt, considerable entrench- 
ments, and a breast work almost cannon proof. In order to dis- 
lodge them from this post, which might have given great annoy- 
ance, as vrell to the town as to the shipping in the harbour, a 
detachment of somewhat more than two thousand men was sent 
out under the command of the generals Howe and Pigot. The 
attack was begun by a heavy cannonade, not only from the assail- 
ants, but from the ships and floating batteries, and from the top 
of Cop's Hill in Boston. 

106. This severe and incess.-tnt lire the provincials are said to 
have borne with a firmness and resolution that would have done 
honour even to the most veteran troops. They did not return 
a shot, until the king's forces had advanced almost to the u^orks, 
when they began, and kept up T)!- some time, such a dreadful and 
continued fire upon them, as threw our troops into confusion, 
and killed many of our bravest men and officers. 

107. The troops, however, were instantly rallied, and return- 
ing to the charge with fixed bayonets and irresistible fury, they 
forced the works in every quarter, and compelled the provin- 
cials to abandon the post, and withdraw to the continent. This 
advantage, however, v/as not gained but at a very great expense. 
Almost one half of the detachment were either killed or wound- 
ed, the number of which together amounted to one thousand 
and fifty-four. 

108. The number of offic^r^ that fell in this action, com 



Chap. 36. GEORGE 111. 271 

pared to that of the private men, was greatly beyond the usual 
proportion ; and this is said to have been owing to the following 
circumstance. The Americans had trained and employed on 
this occasion, a certain set of soldiers, called marksmen or rifle- 
men, who excelled all others in taking a sure and steady aim. 

109. They had likewise furnished them with a new kind of 
muskets, called rifle barrelled guns, which not only carried 
the ball to a greater distance, but sent it in a more straight and 
direct line, than the common firelocks. Thus our oflicers were 
marked out, and despatched by these riflemen with almost as 
fatal a certainty, as a bird is shot by a fowler when perched up- 
on a tree. 

llOo To understand their motive for this conduct it may be 
proper to observe, that during the whole course of the war the 
Americans expressed a particular animosity to the officers of the 
British army beyond what they showed to the common men, 
and probably from an opinion, lliat the war was disapproved of 
by the great body of the English nation, and was chiefly approv- 
ed by the nobility and gentry, of which two classes of people, 
the officers of the army are in general composed. 

111. They probabl}' too had another end m view, and that 
was to entice the common men to desert from the army, and if 
not immediately to join the American forces, at least to become 
settlers in the country, and thereby add to its strength and popu- 
lation ; nor could any tiling withstaRd the strong temptations 
that were thrown in their way for this purpose, but their fideli- 
iy to their king and their attachment to their native soil. 

1 12. The spirit displayed by the Ne^v-Englanders on this oc- 
casion, no doubt encouraged the congress to proceed with great- 
er alacrity in their military preparations. They had, some time 
before, given orders for raising and paying an army, and they 
now published a declaration of the motives that compelled them 
to take up arms, and their determined resolution not to lay 
them down, till all their grievances were redressed, that is, till 
the obnoxious acts of parliament were repe<ded. They hke- 
wise appointed colonel Washington, one of the delegates for 
Virginia, to be commander-in-chief of all the American forces. 

1 13. But to show, at the same time, that they had no inten- 
tion of separating themselves from the mother country, they 
presented an address to the inhabitants of Great Britain, another 
to the people of Ireland, and a petition to the king, in which 
they disclaim all thoughts of independence, and declare that they 
wish for nothing more ardently than a reconcihation with the 
parent state, upon what they call just and reasonable terms. 
And, in the opinion of many people, such terms might have 
been granted them at this lime^ as would at once have gratified 



272 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

their ambition, and neither have hurt the honour nor the inte- 
rest of England. For this purpose several plans were proposed 
by the ministry ; but they were all of them rejected. 

114. Our ministers, indeed^ seem now to have been possess- 
ed with the romantic notion of conquering America by force 
of arms, which perhaps was at no time practicable ; or had it 
been, the keeping it in subjection would have cost us more 
than all the advantages we could ever have derived from it. 
Perhaps, indeed, no country is worth the retaining that cannot 
be preserved otherwise than by a military force. So strong, 
however, was the delusion under which the ministry then la- 
boured, that they were incapable of having their eyes opened 
even by the very interesting intelligence they received from 
Mr. Fenn, one of the most wealthy and best informed gentlemen 
in America. He was a descendant of the great Fenn, who had 
founded the colony of Pennsylvania ; he was himself one of the 
chief proprietors of that province ; and he had brought over 
the last petition to the king from the American congress. 

115. He was now examined in the house of lords, and the 
sum of his evidence tended to prove, that the colonies had not 
yet formed any design of erecting themselves into independent 
states ; that, on the contrary, they v/ere extremely desirous of 
compromising all differences with the mother country upon equi- 
table terms ; but, that if their present application for this pur- 
pose (meaning the petition) was rejected, there was great rea- 
son to fear that they w^ould enter into alHances with foreign 
powers ; and that if once such alliances were made, it would be 
no easy matter to dissolve them. No regard, however, was 
paid to his information ; and as to the petition itself, he was 
told by the ministry, that no answer would be returned to it. 

116. It is easy to imagine what an impression such a haughty 
and contemptuous treatment must make upon the minds of the 
Americans, elated as they were, with the honour they had ac- 
quired by their gallant behaviour in the battle of Bunker's Hill, 
and now perhaps, for the first time, beginning to feel their strength 
as a people. The fact is, that during the whole of this unhappy 
quarrel, our ministers seem to have entertained too mean an 
opinion of the spirit, as well as of the resources of the Americans. 
This, it is thought, was the critical moment for putting an end to all 
differences with the colonies, without proceeding to further hosti- 
lities ; but this moment, being once lost, could never be recovered. 

1 1 7. The Americans were not satisfied with acting merely on 
the defensive, or within the limits of associated provinces. A 
party of New-England and New- York militia, made an incursion 
into Canada under tlie generals Montgomery and Arnold. They 
reduced the forts of Chamblee and St. John, and even the towa 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 275 

of Montreal. They actually attempted to take the city of Quebec 
by storm ; but Montgomery being killed, and Arnold wounded 
in the assault, they were obliged to desist from the enterprise ; 
and a large body of troops arriving soon after from England, they 
were finally compelled to evacuate the province. 

118. The army, however, in Boston was now reduced to a 
most miserable condition. General Howe, who had succeeded 
general Gage in the command of it, thobgh an officer of spirit, 
and of great military skill, and even fruitful in resources and ex- 
pedients, found himself totally unequal to the difficulties of his 
situation. He was effectually cut off from all communication 
with the continent of America, from which he could not expect 
the least supply of provisions. The store ships from England 
not only arrived slowly, but several of them were even inter- 
cepted by the enemy. In a word, the army as well as the inha- 
bitants of Boston, were in the most imminent danger of perishing 
of hunger. 

119. To add to their distress the Americans had erect- . ta 
ed some strong batteries on the adjacent hills, from whence . ' ^* 
in the spring they began to play upon the town with in- 
credible fury ; and now, assailed at once by the horrors of war 
and of ilimine, neither of vvhicii it was in their power to repel, 
they found it indispensably necessary to evacuate the place. The 
arm}' accordingly, and such of the inhabitants as chose to follow 
its fortunes, being put on board some transports, they set sail 
from Boston, and after a quick passage, arrived safely at Hahfox 
in Nova Scotia. General Howe had no sooner quitted the town 
Ihan general Washington took possession of it, and being assisted 
6y some foreign engineers, he soon fortified it in such a manner 
asHo render it almost impregnable. 

120. About the same time an e-spedition was undertaken 
against Charleston, the capital of South-Carolina, which showed 
us to be as little acquainted with creeks and harbours on the coast 
of America, as we soon after appeared to be with the interior 
geography of the country. The ileet was commanded by sir 
Peter Parker, the land forces by general Clinton. The troops 
were disembarked upon a place called Long Island, separated 
from another named Sullivan's Island only by a strait, which was 
said to be no more than eighteen inches deep at low water. Upon 
this vague report our commanders planned the expedition ; and 
the success was such as might have been expected. 

121. The enemy had erected some strong batteries upon Sul- 
livan's island, in order to obtruct the passage of the ships up to 
the town. This post the. admiral attacked with great gallantry ,• 
but when the troops attempted to pass from one island to the 
other, in order to second his efforts, they found the strait instead 



274 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 30 

of eighteen inches, to be no less than seven feet deep. The 
consequence was, that the admiral, after continuing the actioii 
for the space often hours, and after having lost some of his bra- 
vest men and officers, and even a ship of war, which he was 
obliged to burn to prevent her falling into the hands of the ene- 
my, was at last forced to give up the enterprise as altogether im- 
practicable. 

122. The news of this miscarriage, and of the mistake that 
gave rise to it, were received in England with the most perfect 
indifference. The fact is, that our ministers, and indeed, a great 
part of the people, seem at this time to have fallen into a state 
of the most unaccountable listlessness and inattention to the na- 
tional honour and the national interest. The people at large 
appear to have been of opinion, that as no great honour could 
be derived from success in tliis war, so no great disgrace could 
be incurred by a failure in it ; and losses and disappointments, 
which, had we been engaged in hostilities with a foreign enemy, 
would have fired the nation with resentment, and called down the 
utmost weight of public vengeance, upon the authors of them, 
were now passed over as common and trivial occurrences. 

123. The Americans now began to think that matters had been 
carried to too great an extremity between them and the mother 
country, ever to admit of an}^ sincere or lasting reconciliation. 
They likewise reflected, that while they continued to acknow- 
ledge themselves subjects of the British empire, they were natu- 
rally regarded by the rest of the world as rebels fighting against 
their lawful sovereign ; and that this might prevent foreign states 
from entering into any public treaty or alliance with them. — 
Moved, therefore, by these considerations, they published, about 
this time, their famous declaration of independence, by which 
they disclaimed all allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and 
erected themselves into free and sovereign states. 

124. General Howe did not remain long inactive at Halifax 
Setting sail from that place he arrived off New-York ; and be- 
ing there joined by his brother, lord Howe, with a large fleet 
and considerable reinforcements, he drove the enemy, first from 
Long Island, then from the city of New- York ; and he compelled 
them to abandon Kingsbridge at the extremity of New-York 
island, where they had thrown up some very strong works. He 
even pursued them to a place called White Plains, where he 
had a slight sldrmish with them ; but not being able to bring 
them to a general engagement, he returned to New- York, where 
he fixed his head quarters. 

126. The affairs of the congress were reported at this time to 
be in a very desperate situation. As their troops had been en- 
listed only for a certain term, which was now expired, their 



uLp. 3(i. ULU11(.L 111. yi,!, 

army is said to have dwindled down from twenty-five thousand to 
three thousand men. Two strokes, however, which general 
Washington soon after struck, and wliich contributed equally to 
raise the spirits of liis own men, and to damp those of the British 
troops, seem to correspond very ill with this opinion. On the 
night of Christmas day, he silently crossed the Delaware, and at- 
tacking a body of Hessians, that were quartered at Trenton, he 
made nine hundred and- eighteen of them prisoners, whom he 
fairly carried off. 

126. In a few days after, he crossed the river a second time, 
and falling upon a body of British troops under the command of 
colonel Mawhood, he either killed or captured the greatest part 
of them. These successes, indeed, might be as much owing to 
his intimate acquaintance with the nature of the country, as to 
any superiority offeree he possessed. But the advantage which 
this knowledge of the country gave him,, seems to be a circum- 
stance that never entered into the heads of our ministers or com- 
manders, and to counteract which it does not appear that they ever 
took the least care, or ever made the slightest provision. 

127. France and Spain had hitherto professed to observe the 
most exact neutrality with regard to Great Britain and her Ame- 
rican colonies. A slep, however, which they now took, was suf- 
licicnt to render their sincerity suspected. They opeiied their 
ports to the American privateers, and suffered them publicly to 
(Uspose of the rich prizes they had taken from the British mer- 
chants. They likewise supplied the Americans privately with 
artillery and other military stores : and such numbers of French 
oflicei's and engineers went over to the western world, and join- 
ed the American army, as added greatly to the skill, and conse- 
quently to the strengtl) of the enemy. 

128. At the same time both these powers continued to in-* 
crease their marine with such unwearied dihgen(*e, that it was 
plainly foreseen, and even foretold by every person of common 
sense, that the}' would soon throw off the mask they had hither- 
to worn, and openly declare in favour of the Americans. But 
these predictions were disregarded by the ministry, or rather, 
were treated with the most supreme contempt ; they affected 
to laugh at them as the visionary conceits of wrong headed poli- 
ticians. 

129. We have already observed, that on his majesty's acces- 
sion, eight hundred thousand pounds a year had been settled 
«pon him for his civil list. But this sum had hitherto been found 
unequal to the expenses of the civil government. Above half a 
million of money, therefore, was now granted for defraying the 
arrears of the civil list, and an addition of one hundred thousand 
pounds a year was m.ade to this branch of the revenue ; so thaj; 



i 



276 ^ dliap. ^6. 

his majesty has at present nine hundred thousand pounds a year 
for supporting the charges of the civil government. 

130. What opinion even some of the ministers themselves had 
of this measure, may be easily learned from the speech which 
sir Fletcher Norton, speaker of the house of commons, made to 
the king when he presented to him the bill for this purpose. He 
told him that his faithful commons had given him this mark of 
their affection, at a time when their constituents were labouring 
under burthens almost too heavy to be borne. " They have," 
continued he, " not only granted to your majesty a large present 
supply, but also a very great additional revenue ; great beyond 
example ; great beyond your majesty's highest expense." 

131 " But all this, sir, they have done in a well grounded con- 
fidence, that you wdl apply wisely, what they have granted libe- 
rally." Whether even the immense sum of nine hundred thou- 
sand pounds a year be equal to the expenses of the civil list, is 
best known to the tradesmen and the inferior servants of the 
crown. As to the superior servants, through whose hands the 
money passes, it is to be supposed they have too great a regard 
or the honour of their sovereign ev^er to suifer him to run very 
deep in arrears to them. 

. 1^ 132. In the month of June, general Howe opened the 
J * „ * campaign in the province of New- York, and again exert- 
ed his utmost endeavours to bring the enemy to a deci- 
sive action ; but this, as formerly, was avoided by general Wash- 
ington with so much abihty and success, as soon procured that 
gentleman the appellalion, which he seems, indeed, to have just- 
ly deserved, of the Ameri,can Fabius. General Howe, finding it 
impossible either to provoke or entice the enemy to a pitched 
battle in the northern colonies, resolved to try his tbrtune in the 
more southern provinces. 

133. Accordingly, embarking his army on board of about two 
hundred transports, he set sail for Philadelphia ; but when he 
arrived at the mouth of the Delaware, which leads directly to 
that city, he found the channel of the river filled with such a 
quantity of chevaux de frize, as rendered it absolutely impassa- 
ble. He therefore landed his troops at Elk Ferry in Maryland ; 
and on his march from this last place, he met general Washing- 
ton, on the banks of the Brandywine river. Washington being 
extremely desirous of protecting Philadelphia, resolved, contrary - 
to his usual maxim, to hazard a battle. 

134. The two armies, in consequence immediately came to 
an engagement, and after a severe and bloody conflict, which 
continued through the whole day, the enemy were at last obliged 
ts yield to the superior discipline of the English troops. By this 
means the king's forces were enabled to continue their march to 



Chap. 36. ^ GEORGE III 277 

Philadelphia, of which they took possession, though the greatest 
part of them were encam])8d at a village called Germantown, 
about six miles from the city. 

135. General Washington, though worsted in the battle of 
Brandy wine, was neither so much weakened nor dispirited by 
that event, as to prever>t his undertaking, in a short time after, a 
very bold enterprise, which was as little expected by his friends 
as by his enemies. He had taken post at a place called Skip- 
pack Creek, about sixteen miles from Germantown, where he 
received a considerable reinforcement. 

136. From this place, on the third of October, he set out si- 
lently by night, and arriving at Germantown, about three in the 
morning, he fell upon the king's forces with such impetuosity, as 
to throw them into confusion ; but these last being soon rallied, 
and brought to the charge, the enemy, in their turn, were obliged 
to retreat, though this they did with such good order as to carry 
oflf their cannon with them. The loss of the royal army in this 
action amounted to above five hundred men ; that of the enemy 
was probably more considerable. 

137. General Howe sustained a still greater loss in clearing 
(he banks of the river of those forts which the enemy had erect- 
ed upon them, and which prevented the approach of the ships to 
the town with the necessary stores and provisions. A strong body 
of Hessians which he sent out upon this service, were almost all 
of them either killed or wounded, and were obliged to relinquish 
the enterprise. But as there was an indispensable necessity for 
destroying these forts, w^ithout which it would be impossible to 
subsist the army in Philadelphia during the winter, some ships of 
war were warped up the river, which soon silenced the batte- 
ries ; and preparations being made for storming the forts on the 
land side, the enemy at last thought proper to abandon them. 
The chevaux de frize, however, still continued in the bed of the 
river, and prevented the passage of any ships of war, or indeed 
of any ships of heavy burden. 

138. The king's forces were not so successful in the northern 
as they had been in the more southern provinces. General Bur- 
goyne, who commanded an army in Canada of about t6n thousand 
bien, including some Indians, resolved with this body to make an 
impression upon the province of New-England. He crossed the 
lakes George and Champlain without opposition. He even re- 
duced the fort of Ticonderoga. 

139. Upon his arrival at Saratoga, he was suddenly surround- 
ed and attacked by a superior body of NeAV-Englanders under 
ihe generals Gates and Arnold, and after fighting them two diffe- 

ent times with great bravery, though with great loss, his camp 
kvas at last stormed, and he and his men were obliged to submi . 



278 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Uhap. m. 

to a capitulation, importing that they should lay clown their arms, 
and be conducted to Boston, from whence they should be allow- 
ed to embark for Great Britain upon condition of their not scry- 
ing again in America during the present war. 

140. A little before this an extraordinary revolution happen- 
ed in the East Indies. Lord Pigot, governor of Madrass, was, 
merely for executing the orders of the directors, seized and im- 
prisoned by the leading members of the council ; and even his 
life was at first thought to be in danger from the violence of his 
enemies. His own feelings, however, in a little time, completed 
what his adversaries had either the prudence or the humanity to 
forbear. His high spirit could not brook tlie indignity that had 
been offered him ; he soon after sickened and died ; and his 
death was the more sincerely lamented, as without making invi- 
dious comparisons, it may be safely affirmed, that his lordship 
>vas a man of the most amiable character of any that ever made 
a fortune in the east. 

141. Civil wars are always attended with a spirit of enthusi- 
asm, which frequently carries men to the commission of crimes, 
the bare thoughts of which, in their cooler moments, would fill 
them with horror. It was no doubt under the influence of this 
spirit, that one James Aitken, commonly known by the name of 
.fohn the painter, set fire to the rope liouse at Portsmouth, and 
to a street called Q,uay Lane, in Bristol. He is even said to have 
formed a plan for burning all the principal trading towns in the 
island, together with their docks and shipping. But before he 
could carry any more of his hellish designs into execution, he 
was seized, tried, condemned, executed, and hung in chains. 

. J. 142. What had long been foreseen by almost every 
* Q ' sensible and unprejudiced man in the kingdom, and re- 
* peatedly foretold by the opposition in parliament, now 
came to pass. The French threw off the mask they had hither- 
to worn, and openly declared in favour of the Americans, whom 
they acknowledged as sovereign and independent states. 

143. General Clinton, who had succeeded general Howe in 
the command of the army, now evacuated Philadelphia, and re- 
treated to New- York, in his march to which he was attacked by 
general Washington ; but no great loss was sustained on either 
side. In this action, indeed, general Lee was accused of not 
having acted with his usual alacrity in attacking the British troops, 
and being found guilty, was suspended for one year. 

144. It may be worthy of notice, that this gentleman formerly- 
served in the British army, which he had quitted in liisgust, and 
had ever since espoused the cause of the Americans, whose in- 
terest he had promoted with equal zeal and activity. He ha" 
particularly distinguished himself in the defence of Sullivan'i 



^Chap. 36. GEORGE Ml. 279 

island. Some little time before this he had been taken prisoner 
Dy a flying party of the English army, and was threatened with 
being tried and punished as a deserter 

145. But the congress declared, that if any violence was of- 
fered to his person, they would immediately retaliate upon such 
British officers as were in their power. And to compensate for 
his capture, general Prescot, a British officer, was soon after 
taken prisoner by a small party of the Americans ; so that these 
two gentlemen were very soon exchanged. 

146. Though war had not been formally declared between 
Great Britain and France, yet there could be no doubt but that 
these rival nations were in a state of actual hostility. Fleets were 
accordingly fitted out on both sides. D'Orvilliers commanded 
the French squadron ; admiral Kep])el conducted the English 
The fleets met on the twenty-seventh of July, when a running 
fight took place but no decisive action. Admiral Keppel was af- 
terwards accused of not having done his duty, by admiral Palli- 
sier, the second in command. He Avas therefore tried, but ho- 
nourably acquitted. Pallisier himself was likewise tried for diso- 
bedience of orders, and was partlj^ acquitted and partly con- 
demned. 

147. In the course of this year, died the celebrated earl of 
Chatham, one of the greatest orators, as well as one of the ablest 
and most successful ministers that this country ever produced. As 
some mark of national gratitude for the many eminent services 
he had performed to his country, the sum of twenty thousand 
pounds wtis now^granted b)^ parliament for discharging his debts; 
an annuity for four thousand pounds was-settled upon his son and 
successor, and upon all the heirs of his body that shall inherit 
the earldom of Chatham ; his remains were interred with great 
funeral pomp in Westminster Abbey ; and a monument was or- 
dered to be erected to his memory at the public expense. 

148. This year a bold adventurer of the name of Paul Jones 
kept all the western coast of the island in alarm. He landed at 
Whitehaven, where he burned a ship in the harbour, and even 

attempted to burn the town. He afterwards landed in . ^ 
Scotland, and plundered the house of the earl of Selkirk. /«-,q" 
He some time after fought a bloody battle with captain 
Pearson of the Serapis, whom he compelled to submit ; and so 
shattered was his own ship in the engagement, that he had no 
sooner quitted her in order to take possession of his prize than 
she went to the bottom. Captain Farmer, too, of the Quebec, 
fought a no less desperate battle with a French ship of greatly 
superior force. He continued the engagement with unremitted 
fury, till his own ship accidentally taking fire, was blown into the 
air, together with himself and most of the crew. 



2^0 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36 

149. The chief scene of action between the EngHsh and 
French fleets, was the West Indies, where we reduced St. Lucia. 
But, this advantage was more than counterbalanced by the loss 
of Dommica, St. Vincent's, and Grenada, which the enemy took 
from us. Nothing of importance happened in America, except 
the reduction of Georgia by commodore Parker and colonel 
Campbell ; and an attempt which the French admiral D'Estaign, 
and the American general Lincoln, made to recover it ; but in 
which they were bravely repulsed by major general Prevost. 
As to genera! Washington, he still kept upon the defensive ; nor 
could sir Henry Clinton, with all his military skill and address, 
bring him to a pitched battle. 

1 50. A fresh attempt w as made this year to compromise all 
differences with the American colonies in an amicable manner ; 
and for this purpose throe commissioners were sent out to that 
part of th« world, viz : The earl of Carlisle, Mr. Eden, and go- 
vernor Johnstone ; but it was plain to every man of common 
sense, that after the sword had been used so long, it was in vain 
to think of settling the dispute with a few strokes of the pen. 
This negotiation, however, we chiefly mention for the sake of a 
noble and high-spirited answer, that was given by Mr. Reed, an 
American general, to one of the commissioners, who hadofi'ered 
him the sum often thousand pounds, and any office in his majes- 
ty's gift in the colonies, provided he would use his influence in 
bringing about an accommodation. 

151. This offer Mr. Reed considered as an attempt to bribe 
him ; and he therefore replied : — " 1 am not worth purchasing ; 
but such as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich enough 
to do it." Times of civil war and commotion, as they sometime? 
give rise to the most shocking vices, produce likewise, upon par- 
ticular occasions, the most exalted virtues, the purest patriotism, 
the greatest elevation of mind, and the most steady and incor- 
ruptible principles. It has been laid down as a maxim by some 
wily and worthless politicians, who judge of all mankind by them- 
selves, that every man has his price ; but here is a man who 
plainly appears to be above all price. 

1 52. The king of Spain now followed the example of the Frencli 
monarch, in acknowledging the mdependence of the American co- 
lonies ; and the fleets of these two great powers being joined 
together, rendered them more than a match for that of Great 
Britain. This summer tlie militia were drav/n out, and encamp- 
ed in different parts of the kingdom, which had at least this good 
effect, that it helped to relieve the languor of that unhappy race 
of mortals upon whose hands their time hangs heavy, and who 
do not know hoAv to pass the summer months, when deprived of 



Chf^p. 36. GEORGE IK 281 

that everlasting round of diversions and amusements, which they 
enjoy in the capital during the winter. 

153. The civil transactions of next year consisted chiefly in 
some attempts that were made in parliament for reducing . y. 
the public expenses. By apian of Mr. Burke's, the <«j»rv' 
board of trade and some other useless and superfluous 
offices were abolished. And by a bill introduced by the minis- 
ter himself, commissioners were appointed to inquire into the 
public accounts : and the discoveries they made in the course 
of their examination, threw great light upon the collection as well 
as the expenditure of several branches of the revenue. 

154. This year a man started up from the depth of obscurity 
in which he had for some time been buried by debts and difficul- 
ties, we do not say to retrieve the honour of the British flag, for 
that had never been tarnished ; but certainly to carry it to a 
higher pitch than it had lately attained. The man we mean, is 

j admiral Rodney, who being entrusted with the command of a 
squadron, set sail for Gibralter, and in his way thither, first took 
1 rich convoy of Spanish merchantmen ; afterwards defeated a 
fleet of Spanish men of war, taking the admiral Don Langara's 
ship, and three other ships of the line. 

155. A few months after he fought a most obstinate battle with 
a superior French fleet, under the count de Guichen, in the 
West Indies ; and to mention all his gallant actions at once, in 
1782 he obtained a most glorious victory in the neighbourhood 
of Jamaica, over another French fleet commanded by the count 
de Grasse ; taking the admiral's own ship, the Villede Paris, of 
one hundred and ten guns, and several others. For these heroic 
achievements he was raised to the peerage, which, he seems, 
indeed, to have justly deserved. 

156. The principal events that happened in America this 
year, were the reduction of Charleston, South-Carolina, by sir 
Ilenry Clinton and admiral Arbuthnot ; the defeat of general 
Gates by lord Cornwallis ; the execution of major Andre, adju- 
tant general to the British forces, who was taken in disguise 
within the American lines, and condemned as a spy ; and the 
desertion of general Arnold from the American cause, and his 
joining the Britsh army. 

157. Our more immediate domestic occurrences were of a 
most shocking and disgraceful nature. In consequence of some 
indulgences now granted by the parliament to Roman catholics, 

riotous and licentious mob assembled in St George's Fields, in 
order to petition the two houses against these marks of lenity ; 
?oon after which they proceeded to commit the most terrible 
levastations. 

158. They destroyed all, the R.omish chnpels in and abou 



282 HISTORY OF ENGLAND Chap. 36 

town; they burned the prisons of Newgate, the Fleet, and the 
King's Bench, together with the houses of many private persons ; 
and they were even going to make an attack upon the Bank, 
when they were happily opposed by a body of citizens, who had 
learned the military discipline, and called themselves the London 
Association, as well as by the regular troops who were now called 
in ; and these two together soon suppressed the riot, though not 
till they ha(3 killed, or mortally wounded, about two hundred 
and twenty of the ringleaders. 

159. Lord George Gordon was afterwards tried for having 
collected this assembly ; but as it appeared that he was actuated 
merely from religious prejudices, and had never encouraged 
the mob to commit, nor even expected they would commit, any 
outrage, he was acquitted. 

. jy 160. The events of 1781, were neither numerous nor 
* ' important; yet some things happened in most quarters of 
the globe that are v/orthy of notice. As if we had not 
had a sufficient number of enemies upon our hands already, we 
now thought proper to increase the list by engaging in a war, 
perhaps rather rashly, and even unnecessarily, with the Dutch. 
In the West Indies we took from them the island of St. Eustatius ; 
»ut it was soon after retaken by tlie French. A desperate en- 
gagement happened off the Dogger Bank, between a email squad- 
ron of English ships, under admiral Hyde Parker, and a like 
squadron of Dutch ships under admiral Zoutman. The action 
was maintained for three hours and forty minutes with equal 
gallantry on both sides, and at last ended in a drawn battle. 

161. In America, some petty skirmishes happened by land, 
and some trifling encounters by sea, in some of which we failed, 
and in others succeeded. But at last earl Cornvvallis, our second 
in command, got himself into a situation in Virginia, from which 
no military skill or generalship could possibly deliver him ; and 
he was, therefore, obliged to surrender himself and his whole; 
army prisoners of war to the united armies of America and France,! 
under the command of general Washington 

162. This was the second British army that had been cap- 
tured in America, and might have served to convince ourminis-^ 
ters, if any thing could have convinced them, of the extreme 
difficulty, if not the utter impossibility, of carrying on a success- 
ful war in so remote ruid extensive a continent, where the enemy J 
as natives, were so much better acquainted with the face of th< 
country, and consequently possessed such infinite advantag( 
over us 

163. In the East Indies we had somewhat better fortune. 
Hyder Ally indeed, and the Maruttas had joined their arms againsl 
138, defeated colonel Bailhc, and obliged sir Hector Monro to 



Chap. 36. GEOUGE III. 283 

treat ; but sir Eyre Coote arriving, and taking upon him the com- 
mand of the army,soon obtained a completevictory over the enemy. 

164. Though the capture of lord Cornwalhs did not . y. 
put an actual, yet it may be said to have put a virtual end /«po' 
to the war in America. All hopes of conquering it were 

from that moment abandoned as vain and chimerical ; and every 
military operation, that was afterwards carried on, was not so 
much with a view of subjugating the colonies, as to maintain the 
honour of the British arms. The object of the war, therefore, 
being now fairly given up as altogether unattainable, the minds 
of men in general were set upon a peace ; but as peace could 
not be decently concluded by that ministry which had so long 
and so obstinately carried on the war, there was an absolute ne- 
cessity for a new one. 

165. The old ministry, therefore, was dismissed, and a new 
one appointed in its room. The marquis of Rockingham was 
made first lord of the treasury ; lord John Cavendish, chancellor 
of the excheq«er ; Mr. Fox and lord Shclburne, secretaries of 
state ; the duke of Richmond, master general of the ordnance , 
and general Conway, commander-in-chief of the army. In a 
word, there was hardly a single member of the late ministry who 
retained his place in the present, except the chancellor, lord 
Thurlow ; and he is said to have had a capital hand in bringing 
about the change. 

166. We had almost forgot to mention, that ever since the 
commencement of hostilities with Spain, the fortress of Gibralter 
had been closely invested by the troops of that nation ; but all 
their attempts were rendered ineffectual by the admirable skill 
and gallantry of the governor, general Elliot. He commonly 
suffered the enemy to finish their woiks before he attacked them ; 
and then, in the space of a few hours, he either set them on fire, 
or levelled them Avith the ground. In their last attempt upon 
the place, they attacked it with a number of gun boats, that are 
said to have been bomb proof; but these he likewise contrived 
to set on fire by firing red hot balls into them. The Spaniards, 
however, though they failed in this attempt succeeded in two 
others. They took from us the island of Minorca, and the pro- 
rinre of West Florida. 

i67. The ministry were proceeding diligently with the work 
ot peace, negotiations for which were opened at Paris, when 
tb»iy suddenly, and unhappily for the nation, fell in pieces by the 
d*^ath of their leader the marquis of Rockingham. He was suc- 
ceeded by the earl of Shelburne ; and this gave so much disgust 
10 some of the principal members of administration, that Mr. 
Fox, lord John Cavendish, Mr. Burke, paymaster of the forces, 
and several other gentlemen, resigned their places. 



284 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36 

68. The new ministry, however, (for such it may be called,) 
were as zealous for a peace as the old one, and they accordingly 
proceeded to settle the terms of it in the best manner they could ; 
but before they could complete the work of a general pacitica- 
tion, they were obliged to give way to the superior parliamentary 
. y. interest of Mr. Fox and lord North, who formed the fa- 
I7fts * "**^^^ coalition, and though formerly so different in their 
political sentiments, now came into power, as friends and 
coadjutors. 

169. Thus Mr. Fox had the satisfaction of finishing the peace 
which he had begun under the marquis of Piockingham ; and 
lord North had the mortification of being compelled to acknow- 
ledge the independence of those colonies, which he had long 
flattered himself, his sovereign, and the nation, with the hopes 
of being able to conquer. 

1 70. The peace being concluded, the next object that engaged 
the attention of the ministry was the state of our affairs in the 
East Indies. Whether Mr. Fox's bill (as it is i*6ually called,) 
for regulating these affairs, was not rather too violent, we will 
not take upon us to determine. But surely, if ever there was 
a wound in the body politic that required the probing knife of a 
bold state surgeon, ic is the management of our affuirs in the Eas'c 
Indies, which has long exhibited scenes of cruelty, rapacity, and 
oppression, that perhaps are unequalled in the annals of man- 
kind. 

171. The bill, however, excited such a fermentinthe nation, 
. Pj as, when aided by the arts and outcries of the numerous 

■^ ' friends and dependents of the East India company, ef- 
fectually served to overthrowthe ministry ; and they there- 
fore, in their turn, were obliged to make room, not indeed for the 
return of lord Shelburne, (for he did notchoose to appear,) but, 
in all probability, for such as ho thought proper to recommend. 
The parliament was dissolved, and writs were issued for elect- 
ing a new one. The new parliament accordingly met on the 
sixteenth of May. 

172. The definitive treaty of peace with Holland was signed 
at Paris on the twentieth, and in the beginning of July, procla- 
mation of peace between Great Britain and the United States ot 
America, was read by the city common crier, at the royal ex- 
change, and other public places of the metropolis, and a day of 
thanksgiving appointed on that memorable occasion. Advices 
were soon after received of the peace being signed between the 
East India company and Tippoo Saib, an event that was followed 
by the royal assent, being given to Mr. Pitt's East India regula- 
tion bill 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 285 

173. His majesty, on the commencement of the second * j^ 
session of this parhament, opened the same with a speech, /«pc' 
purporting his desire of their attention to the adjustment 

of such points in the commercial intercourse between Great 
Britain and Ireland as were not then finally arranged, on such a 
system as might best ensure the general prosperity of his domi - 
nions ; and his information, notwithstanding any appearance of dif- 
ference on the continent, of having received from all foreign 
powers the strongest assurances of their good disposition towards 
this countr}^ ; together with his liearty concurrence in every 
measure that could tend to alleviate the national burthen, secure 
the principles of the constitution, and promote the welfare of his 
people. 

174. The next point of importance agitated in parliament was 
the great question of a reform in the representation of the peo- 
ple. The subject was introduced by Mr. Pitt^ chancellor of the 
exchequer, in a very eloquent speech to one of the fullest houses 
that had ever been known. The purport of this bill was that 
of transferring from certain boroughs the power of election, to 
counties and towns of greater consequence, not by compulsory 
means, but so as to make it an act of their own direction. After 
considerable debates, Mr. Pitt's proposition was negatived by a 
considerable majority. 

175. In the month of August, an attempt was made by . j^ 
one Margaret Nicholson, on the life of his majesty, as he ^'•^np 
was alighting from his carriage at tlie gate of St. James' 
Palace. This woman had been observed to wait the lying's ar- 
rival for some time, and previous to the jvppearance of the car- 
riage, had taken her station between two women that were un- 
known to her. On the sight of the carriage, she begged with 
some earnestness, that she might not be hindered from delivering 
a memorial to his majest5^. As the king was alighting, she pushed 
forward, and presented a paper, which his majesty received with 
great condescension. 

176. At that instant she struck a concealed knife at the king's 
breast, which his majesty happily avoided by bowing as he re- 
ceived the paper. As she was making the second thrust, one 
of the yeomen caught her arm ; and, at the same instant, one of 
the king's footmen wrenched the knife out of her hand. His 
majesty, with amazing temper and fortitude, exclaimed, " I have 
received no injury I Do not hurt the woman ; the poor creature 
appears to be insane." She was immediately taken into custody ; 
and, upon examination, was found to be insane. Inconsequence 
thereof, she was afterwards sent to Bethlehem hospital, to be 
taken care of. 



286 HISTORV OF ENGLAND. Chap. S«. 

177. A plan was this year set on foot for establishing a colony 
m New Holland, for the convenience of transporting convicts 
thither ; and with a future view of improving the soil, and cul- 
tivating the manners of the natives. Both houses of parliament 

p. having met on the twenty-third of January, his majest}-^ 
then delivered a speech from the throne, in which he 
^^ informed them he had concluded a treaty of navigation 
and commerce with his most christian majesty. In the house of* 
commons Mr. Sheridan brought forward an important charge 
against Warren Hastings, Esq. late governor general of Bengal, 
for high crimes and misdemeanors in the East Indies. 

178. The ministry, soon after the recess of parliament, were 
engaged in attending on disputes which existed" in the republic 
of the united provinces of Holland. The malecontents there, 
were become highly refractory and turbulent, and had treated 
the royal consort of his serene highness the stadtholder, sister 
to the king of Prussia, with the greatest indignity. Every method 
was taken, on the part of his Britannic majesty, to effect the re- 
storation of tranquility, and the maintenance of lawful govern- 
ment among them. 

179. To this end a memorial was presented by sir James 
Harris to the states general, representing the extreme inquietude 
with which the king his master beheld the continuance of their 
dissentions ; expressing his ardent desire of seeing peace re-es- 
tablished ; and assuring them, that if it should be found neces 
sary to recur to a foreign mediation, and to invite his majesty, 
every effort should be exerted on his part to bring the negotia- 
tions to a happy, solid, and permanent issue. His majesty ako 
thought it necessary to explain his intention of counteracting all 
forcible interference on the part of France, in the internal affairs 
of the republic. 

180. As the king of Prussia had taft:en measures to enforce 
his demand of satisfaction for the insult offered to the princess of 
Orange ; and the party which then usurped the government of 
Holland, had applied to the French king, and received assurance 
of assistance, which was notified to his Britannic majesty, orders 
were given for augmenting the British forces both by sea and land, 
to co-operate with the king of Prussia, which orders were exe- 
cuted with the greatest alacrity. 

181. In the mean time , the rapid success of the Prussian troops, 
under the conduct of the duke of Brunswick, at once obtained 
the reparation demanded by their sovereign, and enabled thej 
provinces to deliver themselves from the oppression under which] 
they laboured, as well as to re-establish their lawful government ; 
insomuch that all subjects of contest being thus removed, an ex- 
planation took place between the courts of London and Versailles , 



Chap. 36. GEOMGE HI. gg^ 

and declarations were exchanged by their respective ministers, 
by which it was mutually agreed to disarm and to place their 
naval establishment on tiie same footing as in the beginning of 
this year. 

192. Thus by the united efforts of the kings of England and 
Prussia, the king of France was prevented from openly assisting 
the malecontents in Holland, and the stadtholder established in 
the government of the united provinces. In the beginning . p. 
of this year died at Rome prince Charles Lewis Cassimir /«p« 
Stuart, who headed the rebellion in 1745. Since the ^'°"* 
death of his father, in 1765, he had assumed to himself the title 
of king of England ; but was commonly known on the continent 
5y the name of the chevalier de St. George, and in England by 
jhat of the young pretender. 

183. He was just sixty-seven years and two months old on the 
day of his death. This person was grandson to James the second, 
whosQ son was recognized by several courts of Europe as king 
of England, immediately after the death of his father. As such 
he received kingly honours, had his palace and his guards, and 
enjoyed the privilege allowed by the pope to catholic kings, of 
bestowing a certain number of cardinal hats. But his son, prince 
Charles, who lately died, did not enjoy these honours. He was 
indeed called prince of Wales during the life of his father ; l^ut 
after that event, he no longer bore that title ; nor would the 
catholic courts style him king. 

184. A provisional treaty of defensive alliance was signed on 
the eighteenth of June between tlie ministers plenipotentiary of 
their majesties the kings of Great Britain and Prussia ; and after- 
wards with the states general of Holland. The centenary of the 
revolution in 1688, was this year observed, on the fifth of No- 
vember, by many societies in the metropolis, and other parts of 
the kingdom, not only with festivity, but devotion and thanks- 
giving, 

186. His majesty was in the month of November afflicted by 
a severe indisposition, which prevented him from meeting his 
parliament. Several physicians were examined as to the state 
of his majesty's health. In consequence of this, a grand ques- 
tion was started in the house of commons, between the right ho- 
nourable William Pitt and Charles James Fox, concerning the 
right of supplying the deficiency of the royal authority during 
the incapacity of hi* majesty. After very considerable debates 
the following resolutions were at length agreed to, viz : 

186. 1. " That it is the opinion of this committee that . ^^ 
for the purpose of providing for the exercise of the king's /^oq* 
royal authority, during the continuance of his majestj-'s 
illness, in such manner, and to such extent, as the present cir- 



288 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36 

cumstances of the urgent concerns of the nation may reqiiire , 
it is expedient that his royal highness the prince of Wales, being 
resident within the realm, shall be empowered to exercise and 
administer the royal authority, according to the laws and consti- 
tution of Great Britain, in the name, and on the behalf of his 
majesty, under the style and title of regent of the kingdom ; 
and to use, execute, and perform, in the name, and on the behalf of 
his majesty, all authorities, prerogatives, acts of government, 
and administration of the same, which belong to the king of this 
realm to use, execute, and perform, according to the law thereof, 
subject to such limitations and exceptions as shall be provided. 

187. 2. " That the prince regent should not confer peerages 
but on persons of the royal issue, and those of full age. 3. That 
he should not grant offices, pensions, nor salaries for life, or in 
reversion. 4. That the real and personal property of his ma- 
jesty should be secured, and not be considered as appertaining to, 
©r under the control of, the prince regent. 

188. 6. ^' That it is the opinion of this committee, that the care 
and custody of the king's person should be committed to the 
queen's most excellent majesty ; that her majesty shall have 
power to remove and appoint, from time to time, all persons 
belonging to the different departments of his majesty's household 
during the continuance of his majesty's illness, and no longer ; 
and that, for the better enabling her majesty to perform this duty, 
it is expedient that a council shall be appointed to advise with 
her majesty on all matters relative to the said trust, who shall 
also be empowered to examine upon oath, at such times as they 
shall think fit, the physicians who have attended, or may in fu- 
ture attend his majesty, touching the state of his majesty's health." 

189. All these resolutions were agreed to after much alter- 
cation ; and before the lords could communicate their concur- 
rence to the commons, a protest by upwards of fifty peers was 
entered on their journals. The resolutions were afterwards 
agreed to, and a committee appointed to communicate them to ' 
her majesty, and iiis royal highness the prince of Wales. The 
prince replied to the committee in terms that did honour to his 
humanity, liberality, and patriotism ; and her majesty expressed 
her satisfaction and pleasure at the measures they had adopted in 
the present situation of affairs. 

190. The consideration of the regency bill was resumed from 
time to time in both houses of parliament, till the tenth of March, 
when the lords commissioners sent a message to the commons, 
desiring their attendance in the house of peers, and announced 
to them, by his majesty's command, his happy recovery from his 
Tate indisposition, and consequent capacity of now attending toi 
the public affairs of his kingdom, together with his warmest aQ-/ 



(jliap. 36. GEORGE III. 289 

knowledgements of their late proofs of their attachment to his 
person and government. 

191. On this occasion ;i general joy was manifested by all 
ranks of people, and illuminations, and other marks of public 
rejoicings, were made over all the kingdom. By his majesty's 
proclamation, the twenty-third of April was observed as a day of 
public thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the removal of his late 
illness. The king, attended by the whole royal family, went to 
St. Paul's church in state, amidst the joyful acclamations of the 
populace, who demonstrated their loyalty and affection by every 
possible token of respect and applause ; and particularly on the 
following evening, by the most universal and splendid illumina- 
tions ever known. 

192. In the month of Bfay, a royal message was sent . ^y 
to both houses of parliament, stating his majesty to have /^grj 
received information that two vessels, belonging to his 
majesty's subjects, and navigated under the British flag, had bee© 
captured at Nootka Sound, on the nortliwest oast of America 
by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war ; that the 
British vessels had been seized ; that their officers and crews 
had been sent as prisoners to a Spanish port ; and, that no satis- 
faction having been made or offered by the court of Spain, which 
court, on the contrary, had asserted a claim to the exclusive 
rights of sovereignty, navigation, and commerce, in the territo- 
ries, coasts, and seas, in that part of the world ; his majesty had 
judged it indispensably necessary to give orders for such prepa- 
rations being made as might put it in his power to act with vigour 
and effect m support of the honour of his crown, and the inter- 
ests of his people. 

193. This message was answered by a unanimous promise 
from the house to support his majesty in a war with Spain, in 
case the requisite satisfaction should be refused. The nation 
.was at this moment congratulating itself on its tranquil state, and 
the prospect of continued peace. This prospect was now threat- 
lened with interruption : but the aggression of Spain was so ob- 
vious, that no one hesitated on the mod^ of conduct to be pur- 
sued. Mr. Fox, in giving his hearty concurrence to the mea- 
sures proposed by administration, observed, in the present enlisht 
ened age, the obsolete claim of territory, by grant from a pope 
(on which Spain rested her right to America,) is done away, as 
is the right of discovery without absolute settlement ; the taking 
possession, by fixing up a cross, or any such mark or ceremony, 
isj by the good sense of the present times, not admitted, and the 
OTily ground of right is absolute occupancy. 

194. Mr. Fox approved particularly of that part of the mes* 
sage, and of the address in answer to it, in which the house was 

N 



290 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ^Tfflp^!^ 

led to entertain a prospect of preventing in the adjustment of 
this affair, all future disputes upon a similar question. The point 
with Spain, he said, was no longer the trivial one of the value ol 
the ships seized, but a decision on her rights in Spanish America 
and Spain, he further observed, having always advanced her ob- 
solete rights when she has wished to quarrel with this country, 
we had now an opportunity of putting an end to the assertion of 
tjiose rights forever. Mr. Pitt agreed that he should consider 
every thing as inadequate which did not finally put an end to 
similar disputes. 

195. The quarrel with Spain originated in a commercial spe- 
culation. A plan of discovery and trade, had been set on foot 
by a company of gentlemen in London and India, the object of 
which was to obtain from the northwest coast of America very 
valuable furs, and to make a lucrative exchange of those articles 
at Canton, in China. Mr. Mears, a very able and intelligent 
officer of his majesty's navy, was fixed on, together with ano??- 
ther gentleman, to superintend this expedition. 

1 96. During the years 1786, 1 788, and 1789, six vessels were 
fitted out on this employment ; and the trade being conducted 
with the utmost success, was becoming a matter of great national 
advantage. Toward the middle of 1789, this trade had become 
so flourishing and extensive, through the activity and prudent 
management of Mr. Bleiirs, that factories and trading houses were 
being erected, and several discoveries were made in different 
parts of the coast of America, and the straits of the Archipelago, 
where no European had ventured before. 

197. A colony v/as nearly formed at Nootka sound, as a fac- 
tory for the trade, when a smnll Spanish ship of war, command- 
ed by M.' Martinez, a man of high rank, was sent by the Spanish 
government from Mexico, and, m the month of May she anchored 
in the sound. A second vessel of sixteen guns, soon after joined 
that of M. Martinez. 

198. M. Martinez did not, for some time, give the English 
any reason to suspect the hostility of his design. The greater, 
part of the land residents were dispersed, in pursuit of the ob- 
jects of trade, over different parts of the const : and only one 
English trading ship, the Iphigenia, was in the sound. In this, 
posture of affairs, and amid apparent friendship on either side,' 
the commander of the Iphigenia was ordered to come on boardj 
the Spaniard, and then informed by M. Martinez, in the name 
the kins; of Spain, that himself and his crew were prisoners 
war. M. Martinez then proceeded to take possession of th« 
settlement, hoist the Spanish flag, and erect several buildings-l 
Two ships afterwards arriving, he sent their crews in irons to 
MeKico. 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 29J 

199. Such were the circumstances under which we v/ere about 
to commence a war with Spain ; and few wars, perhaps, have 
jirisen from more clear and justifiable grounds. Happily, how- 
ever, the court of Spain, complying with our demands, preserved 
to both countries the blessings of peace ; and we were enabled 
to disband an immense armament, which, at the expence of three 
millions sterling, we had formed, and which, by its magnitude 
bad astonished all Europe. 

200. By a convention ratified at the palace ot tne iLscunai, m 
November, the catholic king agreed to restore whatever had 
been taken from British subjects, or make compensation for 
the losses sustained ; a free right was allowed to us of carrying 
on the whale fishery in any part of the Pacific ocean, or of the 
Southern seas ; and either party consented that the subjects of 
the other should, in future, be suffered to land, or carry on 
commerce, or form settlements on any part of the coast of Ame- 
rica not already occupied. 

201. This treaty, was not, by some persons, considered as 
sufficiently advantageous, or conclusive ; butthe city of London, 
and the majorities of both houses of parliament, presented ad- 
dresses expressive of their satisfaction. A bill passed this ses- 
sion, by which the settlement of Botany Bay was rendered ca- 
pable of benefitting the mother country during war. The go- 
k^ernor was originally empowered to remit Ihe remaining term of 
:he sentence of such persons as should have behaved well ; and 
mder this act he was authorized to put them on board king's 
;hips in the capacity of soldiers. 

202. This year Tippoo Saib, the son and successor of Hyder 
Mly, disturbed the British possessions in the east. He was sup- 
jCsed to have been, in some degree, incited, on this occasion, 
)y the court of France ; for France, whether as a republic or 
IS a kingdom, has always been our foe. One of the native princes 
laving occasion to resent an attack of Tippoo, the British thought 
)roper to join in the warfare. Hostilities continued during two 
^ears ; at the end of which, in 1792, lord Cornwallis completely 
nvestcd Seringapatara, the capital of the sultan's dominions. In 
his extremity, the sultan was compelled to submit to very igno- 
minious terms of peace. 

203. Early in this year, several matters of public im- . j^ 
(ortance occurred in parliament : by a bill which was '}^ 
ntroduced by Mr. Fox, the trial by jury was invested ^'^'* 
7\th the indisputable possession of an important right, jurors be- 
[ig declared judges both of the law and of the fact. A committee 
f'as appointed to examine evidence on the slave triide ; and, on 
[ie motion of Mr. Wilberforce. a bill '.vas brought in to prohibit 



292 ^IISTORY OF EI /GLAND. Chap. 36 

the further importation of slaves into the British colonies, but 
which bill was lost by a majority of seventy -hve. 

204. A protest having been entered into by the body of Eng- 
lish catholics, against the universal supremacy of the pope, a bill 
was passed, by which persons of their persuasion were released 
from certain penalties and disabilities under which they had for- 
merly laboured ; and the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, 
in North America, received constitutions, in right of which, sub- 
ject to the approbation of the crown, they were thenceforward 
to enjoy legislative assemblies of their own, by which their taxes 
were to be levied and disposed. 

206. In the month of March an armament was prepared for 
the purpose of acting against Russi •, then at war with the Otto- 
» ^ man Porte ; but the measure was shortly afterwards aban- 
1700 * doned. In the year 1792, a bill for the gradual abolition 
* of the slave trade was passed by the commons, but reject- 
ed by the lords. In the statement of the public finances, the 
chancellor of the exchequer showed that the annual public re- 
venue exceeded the expenditure by the sum of nine hundred 
thousand pounds. He proposed and obtained the repeal of taxes 
to the amount of two hundred thousand pounds, and the applica- 
tion of four hundred thousand to the reduction of the national debt. 

206. At this time, the chancellor of the exchequer also ex- 
pressed his belief, that Britain was long to enjoy the blessings of 
profound peace ; blessings which alone were necessary to com- 
plete her actual prosperity. At this time, however, the internal 
discontents of a neighbourmg nation were advancing to a catas- 
trophe by which all Europe was involved in war. 

207. Wealth ruins republics ; poverty, monarchies. Formanj 
generations, the finances of France had been in an embarrasf »:3I 
state. Louis the sixteenth found the throne surrounded by diffi- 
culties of this nature, and he became their victim. The mea- 
sures pursued for the replenishment of the treasury led to public 
discussion and private intrigue. In the event, the king was de 
posed and put to death, and monarchy abolished in France. Many 
circumstances concurred to make the other European powers 
parties in a dispute originally domestic. 

208 The partizans of the ancient government negotiated with 
ibreign courts for their assistance in its restoration ; and the vi- 
gour and spirit of innovation, necessarily excited by an important] 
revolution, the demands of self defence, the desire of revenge, 
and the impulse of ambition, led their opponents also to extern' 
their views without the limits of France ; nor was this all ; the] 
discussion which had been engendered in France spread itseli 
throughout Europe ; the merits of existing governments, anc 
the theories of new ones, were the subjects that every wher<! 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 293 

occupied men's minds ; and, while faults were ascertaiDly to be 
seen in the first, as extravagance in the second, public order was 
threatened with universal disturbance. 

209. The British empire had a fair claim to exemption from 
this disturbance ; for it already possessed every constitutional 
blessing that the warmest lover of liberty ought to desire ; but 
it is not a constitution alone that can provide against every poli- 
tical evil. Pohtical evils, some real, some exaggerated, some 
imaginary, were loudly complained of as inherent in the British 
constitution ; an enthusiast ventured to say, that Britain had no 
constitution ; and sedition began to show itself with the most 
alarming features. 

210. After representing th;it a part of the British nation were 
imbibing sentiments favourable to democracy, it must be added 
that many other sources contributed to the division of parties, 
and the kindling of^animosity. Men difiered in their views of 
the revolution which had taken place in France, and in regard 
to the sentiments which it became the governm.ent of Great Bri- 
tain to entertain on the occasion. Thus irresistibly called upon 
to take a part in the great scene that was acting, the king's minis- 
ter's thought it necessary to obtain acts of parliament by which 
the crown was enabled to order aliens out of the kingdom, and 
to prohibit the exportation of corn to France. 

211. That country was now under the government of a 
national convention, by which body complaints were made of 
these measures on the part of Great Britain, as infractions of the 
commercial treaty subsisting between the two states ; mean- 
while, Great Britain took exceptions to the free navigation of 
the Scheldt, and to a decree called a decree of fraternization, 
which the convention had passed in favour of all persons re- 
volting from their allegiance to monarchiai governments. M. 
Chauvelin, the ambassador from the late king, and who had 
endeavoured to be accredited as ambassador from the democra- 
tical government, was ordered to quit the kingdom, and the con- 
vention now declared tlie French to be at war with the . y^ 
king of Great Britain, and the siadtholder of the united ^r-Qo 
provinces ; an artful phraseolog}^ by which they wished 

to intimate a separateness of tiie interests of the princes and 
people of those countries. 

212. A confederacy had been entered into by Prussia and 
the German empire for the restoration of the crown of France ; 
and of this confederacy Great Britain now became a party : 
British troops under the command of the duke of York, joined 
the allied army ; the duke besieged ind took the city of Valen- 
ciennes. The alhes were generally successful. The united 
fleets of Great Britain and Spain took, but afterwards lost Toulori, 



294 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

In the year 1794, th(^ French threatened to invade Great 
. Yy Britain. Every exertion was riiade to put the country 
J *Q . * into a complete state of defence ; and the people joined 

in all parts in voluntary military associations. 
213. In Scotland, several persons had already been tried for 
seditious writings, and in England many seditions meetings were 
now suppressed. The fortune of war at this time turned 
against the armies of the allies, hut the British lleet under the 
command of earl Howe, obtairied, on the second of June, a sig- 
nal victory over the French ; and, in the East and West Indies, 
the British made themselves m:isiers of the colonies and settle- 
ments of the enemy. Tlio island of Corsica was for a short pe- 
riod annexed to the British cro'.vn 

\ T\ 214. The war continued with various success. The 
'q^ * British, under lord Bridport, won a second naval battle, 

close in with port rOrient. In the month of Decem- 
ber a message from the king was delivered to both houses of 
parliament, in which it was signitied his majesty's wilhngness to 
negotiate with the then existing government of France. An at- 
tempt was afterwards mide to carry this disposition into effect, 
but the very first preliminaries were found to present insur- 
mountable obstacles. 

K T\ 215. In the following year, a revolution took place in 
^ ^qn' the united provinces ; the stadtholder fled into England, 

the government was vested in five directors, and the 
state became an ally of France. The united provinces, there- 
fore, together with Spain, which France had compelled to 
abandon the alliance, becarsie e-^posed to hostilities from the 
British. Toward the end ef this year, a second attempt at nego- 
tiation was rtiade, but vvith as little success as before. 
X ry 216. In the y^ -r 1797, the bank of England was re- 
"IIq-* strained by act <<r p.irllaQient from miiking its payments 

in specie. As a necessary attendant on this measure, it 
issued its notes for the sums of one, two, and tive pounds. This 
year is also to be disiinguished for several remarkable events in 
the naval history of the empire ; as a vi^rtory, obtained over the 
Spanish fleet off C;.pc St. Vincei-t, by admiral sir John Jarvis, 
who was in consequencp. created earl of St. Vincent ; a mutiny 
among the seamen of the fleet then lying at Spithead, and which 
for a time threatened to force the government into measures of 
the last extre.mity; and a victory over the Dutch fleet off Cam- 
perdown. by admiral Duncan, who was raised to the peerage, 
with the dignity of viscount. In this year, also, a third attempt 
at negotiation was made nnd defeated. i 

217- The year 1793 is remrirkable for a victory obtained on I 
the first of August by admiral Kelson, on the coast of Egypt, 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III. 296 

over a squadron which had conveyed an army sent ^J a n 
France into that country. In the eadier part of the same ^ ' g^' 
year, strong symptoms of disafiection had mar.ifested 
themselves in Ireland, and on the twenty-fourth of Miiy, the lord 
lieutenant wrote to his majesty's secretary of state for the home 
department, mforming him that, for some days, orders had been 
issued by the leaders of the United Irishmen, directing their 
partizans to be ready at a moment's notice, as the measures of 
government made it necessary for them to act immediately. 

2 1 8. That, on the precedingday , inform.ition had been received 
that it was probable the city and the adjacentdistricts vvould rise 
in the evening ; that, in consequence, mea'^ures were taken 
which had been so far successful as to prevent an}' movement in 
the metropolis whatever, but that acts of open rebellion w^re 
committed in the counties of Dublin, Meatli, and Kildare, par- 
ticularly a regular attack upon the tovvu of Na<is. The rebellion 
continued till the eighth of September, when about eight hun- 
dred French troops, which had made a descent in its favour, sur- 
rendered after the battle of BaHinamuck. 

219. The dangers from which this kingdom were thus deli- 
vered, afforded a strong argument for uniting it with that of Great 
Britain, a measure of security to both countries, and which was 
now made a subject of consideration by the respective le;<islatures, 
and which, the following year, was carried into efiect. . y^ 
During the early part of the year 1799, the allies more /r-qq' 
numerous, and more vigorous than they had ever for- ' ' 
merly been, routed the French armies upon several occasions, 
and seemed about to render their cause successful. 

220. The state of public opinion in France was also favoura- 
ble. The discontent manifested toward the directorial govern- 
ment encouraged a hope that the change they desired might be 
accomplished. But only a (aw months pissed before the tran- 
cient prospect was considerably obscured. The duke of York 
made an unsuccessful attempt on Holland ; rnd, on the ninth of 
November, the repubhcan government was in a manner, re-es- 
tablished on a new basis, the live directors giving way to three 
consuls, of whom the first, or chief, was general Bonaparte. 

221. One of the earhest acts of the first consul was that of ad- 
dressing a letter to the king, inviting his majesty to negotiate 
terms of peace, an invitation which v/as immediately rejected. 
The allies were at that time in great strength in Italy ; but they 
soon afterwards experienced a dreadful reverse, being worsted 
in a decisive battle, near the village of Marengo. 

222. Disappointed in the hope of obtaining peace from . p. 
the English government; the first consul now adopted ^/.^z!' 
every medium of annoyance. In the diplomatic part of 



I 



296 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

his government, he succeeded in uniting Denmark, Sweden ano 
Russia, in an armed neutrality, hostile to the interests of the 
united kingdom ; while in the military he commenced formida- 
ble preparations for a descent. 

223. There exists, as it has appeared to the maritime powers 
of the north, a question, which tihey solve in such a manner as 
to afford a subject of constant dissatisfaction with Great Britain. 
It is the famous question of mare liherum and mare clausum ; 
that is, whether the navigation of the sea ought to be perfectly 
iree, or subjected to certain restrictions. The restriction of ini- 
mediate moment is this, tliat, during a state of warfare, there 
shall be acknowledged in the belligerent powers the right of 
searching neutral vessels, to the end that their respective ene- 
mies shall not receive, through this medium, such supplies as 
may assist them in the prolongation of hostilities. 

224. There can be nothing more completely founded in the 
reason of the thing, and therefore more lawful than this, and it 
appears, accordingly, from the whole history of Europe, that 
while it has always been remonstrated against by the weak states 
which were called upon to submit to it, it always has been as- 
serted by the strong ones which were able to enforce it. Great 
Britain is in the condition of the latter, and the maritime powers 
of the north in that of the former. 

225. Great Britain asserts the right of searching neutral ves- 
sels ; the powers of the north resist it. It is to the interest of 
former that her enemies should derive no advantage through the 
medium of neutral vessels, it is to the interest of the latter that 
their commerce should be perfectly free ; but it should seem 
undeniable that the first case is supported by general principles 
of justice, the second only by principles of private benefit. 

226. The acknowledgment, however, of superiority is sehlora 
willingly submitted to, and power has commonly the odious tasli 
imposed upon it, of obtaining by force v/hat it ought to receive 
of right. In the year 1780 the government of Russia published 
a new code of maritime law, in conformity with the doctriiies of 
which neutral powers were to firm themselves against the exercise 
of the right of search ; this principle was denominated an armed 
neutrality; and thougii, in the year 1793, the same govern- 
ment proposed and concluded a treaty with Great Britain, in 
which were included stipulations of the directly opposite efiect, 
that principle had early in the interval, been adopted by Swe- 
den, Denmark, and Russia. Each of these countries, in like 
manner, subsequently renounced it : but tlieir renunciation was 
procured from necessity, and they seized the first opportunity ot 
returning to their favorite tenets, and this opportunity now pre- 
sented itself. 



Chap. 36. GEORGE III 297 

227. In the year 1800, discussions had taken place between 
ihe courts of London and Copenhagen, respecting Danish vessels, 
captured in consequence of the orders of the former. The pre- 
sence of a British squadron, in a position which enabled it to cut 
off the Danish ships of war, and to bombard the city, induced a 
temporary acquiescence on the part of Denmark. In the present 
year, the government of Russia, joining the side of France, again 
proposed to estabhsh the system of armed neutrahty, and again 
successively united those of Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia in 
its support. The three latter, having each received what they 
termed insults from the British ships, severally prepared for 
hostilities. The king of Prussia resolved not only on shutting 
the Elbe, the Weser, and the Ems against this country, but on 
occupying the continental dominions of the king; and Denmark 
took possession of Hamburgh. 

228. The English ministers, under the pressure of these cir- 
cumstances, had recourse to that line of conduct, which, about 
six months before, had been .attended with at least temporary 
success. This was that of sending negotiations to Copenhagen 
backed by a strong fleet in the Cattegatte. A plenipotentiary 
extraordinary reached the the British minister at Copenhagen 
with an ultimatum, requiring that Denmark should secede from 
the northern alliances, ihat a free passage through the sound 
should be granted to the British fleet, and that the Danish ships 
should no longer sail with convoy. These terms being rejected, 
the negotiators returned home. 

229. No appeal being now to be made but to arms, the British 
udmiral prepared to pass the sound. Having, in order to learn 
whether or not it was intended to oppose him, sent a note to the 
j^overnor of Cronenburgh castle, and having received for answer 
that the latter could not suffer a fleet, the designs of which were 
not yet known, to approach o s guns, he declared that he consi- 
tlered himself as having received a declaration of war. 

230. On the thirtieth of March the British fleet passed the 
sound, and anchored about live or six miles from the island of 
Huin. It was fired on from the castle of Cronenburgh, which it 
bombarded in return. Ov/ing to some circumstances not ex- 
plained, there was no firing from the Swedish coast, and thus the 
lleet was left at liberty to keep at some distance from the castle. 
The next day, the admiral, sir Hyde Parker, together with vice 
admiral lord Nelson, and rear admiral Graves, came to the reso- 
lution of attacking the Danes from the southward. 

231. Lord Nelson, who had offered his services for the con- 
luct of the attack, proceeded with twelve ships of the line, all 
he frigates, bombs, iireships, and all the small vessels, and on 
he same evening, the first of April, anchored oil' Draco Pointy 



298 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 36. 

to make his disposition for the attack, and wait for the wind to 
the southward. On the n^iorning of the second, lord Nelson made 
the signal for the squadron to weigh, and engage the Danisii nav}^ 
consisting of ?t-X sail of the ime, eleven floating batteries, carry- 
ing each from eighteen eighteen pounders, to twenty -six twenty- 
four pounders, one bomb-ship, and several schooner gun vessels, 
and supported by crown islands and batteries on the isles of 
Amack. 

232. The bomb-ship and gun vessels made their escape ; but 
the other seventeen sail, being the whole of the Danish line to 
the southward of the Crown Island, were, after a battle of four 
hours, sunk, burnt, or taken. The carnage on board the Da- 
nish ships was excessive ; eighteen hundred men are said to have 
been killed. The Danish ships and batteries were now in the 
power of the British ; br.t three of their line of battle ships lay 
aground exposed to a tremendous fire. Mutual interests seemed 
to require of the combatants a cessation of hostilities. 

233. Lord Nelson wrote to the crown prince, proposing this 
cessation, and the latter, though not immediately, consented. 
Each party regarded the day as glorious to its arms ; and the 
contest probably v/ould have been renewed, but that, during the 
time of the conference, intelligence arrived of the death of the 
emperor of Russia, the head of the co.dederacy. His son and 
successor consented to abandon the armed neutrality, and the in- 
ferior potentates followed his example. 

234. Such was the issue of the confederacy of the north ; j 
meanwhile the war grew more extensive and active than ever, ' 
in all the other quarters. The French government prepared to 
attack Portugal, the only remaining ally of Great Britain, and 
emploj^ed itself in collecting, all along its opposite coast, the ., 
means of invading that country itsel f. Great Britain, on her part, i 
compelled to leave her ally to her fate, planned an expedition \ 
against Egypt, which was now com^detely in the possession of '] 
the French, anticipated with the utmost vigour at home the v 
threatened attack upon her shores, and not to remain solely on the : 
defensive, attacked the preparations on the French coast itself. 

235. The French force in Egypt at this time amounted to 
about thirty thousand men, and the number of their allies, and 
camp followers, was computed at fifteen thousand. In Novem- ; 
ber, the British troops were assembled at Malta, under sir Ralph 
Abercrombie, whence they embarked for Egypt on the tenth of i 
December. At Marmorice, the whole army, consisting of from 
seventeen to eighteen thousand men, was, in alternate divisions, j 
put on shore, paraded and refreshed ; and was here also joined i 
by a convoy of Greeks and Turks, which, however, afterwards i 
deserted. \ 



Chap. 3G. GEORGE III. 299 

236. On the second of March the British arrived off Aboukir, 
and on the eighth they prepared to h\nd. During this interval 
of six days, the wind and sea had kept them inactive, and they 
had the mortitication to see the time employed by the French in 
manning the fort, and erecting batteries on the sand hills. The 
division, ordered to land, contained nearly six thousand men, and 
occupied about a hundred and fitly boats. The night of this 
day was spent in assembling the boats at a common rendezvous, 
about a gunshot from the shore. 

237. Under the direction of captain Cochrane, of the Ajax, 
protected by the necessary vessels, and attended by sir Sidney 
Smith, who had the charge of the launches and field artillery, the 
whole division moved toward the shore. The boats had a con- 
siderable distance to row, and were under the fire of fifteen 
v.ieces of artillery, and twenty-five hundred muskets. With the 
Rtmost bravery and good conduct, the British overcame a strong 
and impetuous opposition, and stationed their advanced post at 
about four miles beyond Aboukir, while the French retreated 
towards Alexandria. Their loss, in killed and wounded, was 
five hundred and fifty-four ; that of the enemy was not ascer- 
tained. Early in the morning of the thirteenth, they moved for- 
ward to attack the enemy. 

238. At one time the French were flying before them ; but 
from motives of prudence, they gave up the pursuit, ;ind made a 
retreat, during which they experienced some injury from the 
enemy. On the twenty-first of March took place a general ac- 
tion, in which the British were victorious, but in which they 
experienced the heavy loss of a general of more th;m ordinary 
worth, sir Ralph Abercrombie, their commander-in-chief. The 
killed and wounded amounted to eleven hundred and ninety-three. 
Major general Hutchinson, on whom the command of the army 
had now devolved, advanced to Cairo, which surrendered on ih" 
twenty-seventh of June. On the twenty-seventh of August, 
Alexandria came to a capitulation, agreeably with the terms of 
which the French entirely evacuated the country. 

239. The year before us was remarkably eventful, but the 
space to which we are limited obliges us to pass over every event 
which is not of the first magnitude. We have seen the enemies 
of Great Britain silenced in the north, ai:d vanquished in the 
east ; but while the events relative to the latter division of our 
Vjstory were passing, and before the sequel we have related was 
known in Europe, the island was threatened, as has been related, 
with immediate invasion. 

240. Troops were assembling along that part of the frontiers 
of France and Holland, which lie opposite to England, and ves- 
sels were said to be in preparation for carrying them over, 



300 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 57 

Varimis detached acts of bravery were performed by the British 
seamen on the coast of the enemy, and it was judged better to 
hazard something in offensive war, than suffer the pubUc mind 
to be sunk by suspense. 

241. A flotilla was accordingly sent, under the orders of lord 
Nelson, to whom the plan of the enterprise has been attributed, 
and the French, instead of making attacks on England, were 
compelled wholly to employ themselves in providing for their 
defence. Boulogne-sur Mer, the principal rendezvous, was the 
object of hostilities, and the scene of bravery which no doubt 
assisted the general cause, but v/i)ich had the mortification to see 
itself unable to achieve the object for which it exerted itself. 
After two splendid efforts, lord Nelson, about the seventeenth of 
August, returned to the Downs, leaving part of the fleet to cruise 
on the French coast. 

242. A muturd desire for peace now manifested itself in the 
belligerent countries. Each felt itself able to continue the war, 
but neither to any important purpose. Mr. Pitt retired from 
office ; and, under the auspices of Mr. Addington, his successor 
a negotiation for peace was commenced, and on the first of Oo. 
lober, preliminaries were signed. 

243. On the twenty-seventh of March 1802, the mi- . ^ 
nisters of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Repub- .' ^ 
lie, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, concluded at 
Amiens, a definitive treaty of peace. The ratifications of this 
treaty were exchanged at Paris ; and on the twenty-ninth d 
April, peace was proclaimed in London. 



CHAPTER XXXVII.— George III. CoNxmuE/,. 

1. The peace of Amiens, which diffused such universal joy, 
*nd promised a respite to the contending powers, was unhappily 
of short duration. It proved a mere suspension of hostilities. 
War broke out, with its accustomed violence, the following yeai: 
It was restricted, however, in the first instance, to Eng- . y. 
land and France. The ostensible ground of the rupture /p,)-* 
was the island of Malta, the surrender of which, in the 

late treaty, was made to depend upon future contingencies. 

2. This island, which, before it was transferred by the empe- 
ror Charles V., to the order of St. John, was a naked rock» 
occupied by fishermen, had become under that celebrated or- 
der, an impregnable fortress, with a safe and commodious har- 
bour. Its restoration, however, exacted on the one band and 
refused on the other, seems of itself to have been too insignifi- 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III 301 

cant an object to counterbalance the evils an^l the dangers of a 
war between two powers so formidable in every respect. 

3. But both nations had ulterior views in regard to the occu* 
pants of this island. England had no reluctance to relinquish it, 
if its new holders were disconnected v/ith France, and could be 
secured in its possession. This was evidently difficult, if not 
impossible. And the retusal of the surrender of Malta, by the 
British ministry, is stated to be inconsequence of new encroach- 
ments by France, on the independence of her neighbours, in 
contravention of existing treaties. 

4. But whatever might be the occasion or pretext for the re- 
commencement of the war;, the nature of the negotiation which 
preceded it, rendered it abundantly evident, (so wide and con- 
tradictory were the views of the two nations,) that the hope of the 
continuance of peace was altogether vain. The renewal of hos- 
tilities was announced in the house of commons on the sixteenth 
of May. But as England had long since rejected the project of 
invading the territories of France, and the latter was in no situa- 
tion to appear on the ocean ; a new mode of warfare was projected, 
which, with some intermission, was acted upon for several suc- 
cessive years. 

6. As the two countries are separated only b}'^ a narrow chan- 
nel, an intended descent upon the British islands v/as announced 
by France, and great preparations were made at Boulogne, for 
the accomplishment of this object. The war, however, so far 
as it was restricted to this point, consisted in little more than 
multiplying the means of invasion on one side, and of resistance 
on the other. Zealous and expensive efforts were directed, by 
the one to facilitate, and by the other to prevent, the passage of 
the channel. In t)ie course of 1804, such was the apparent 
state of readiness of the flotilla, as to threaten an immediate at- 
tempt at the execution of their project. 

G. Among other preparations, which seemedtoimply an open 
determination on the part of France, and some contidence of 
success, was a proclamation prepared to be issued upon the ene- 
my arrival on the opposite shore. England, in the mean time, 
having put her seacoast in a state of defence, and levied and ar- 
ranged her troops of various descriptions, had the appearance of 
perfect tranquility ; every one proceeding with his usual occu- 
pation, as if there were no enemy to disturb him, and yet as fully 
prepared and as prompt to resist, as if the enemy were already 
putting in execution his threatened descent. 

7. Though the attention of the two nations was directed, it 
was only wholly confined, to the military arrangements upon the 
opposite shores. Immediately upon the recommencement of 
the war. the French invaded and took possession of Hanover ^ 



302 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37. 

and conveyed from thence, in the foiknving January, the cele- 
brated machine for boring cjinnon hi the iron foundry, valued at 
two milHon crowns. The forcible occupation of this German 
territory was made a subject of com}?laint, as the king of Eng- 
land had not declared war as elector of Hanover. And as he had 
drawn no forces from that electorate. l)e expected it would re- 
main in peace, as on former occasions ; especially as its invasion 
would be a violation of the rights of the German empire. Lubec 
was also taken by the French, and Tobago by the English. 

8. But events of more importance, in their bearings and ten- 
dencies, took place, about this time, in a distant quarter. Soon 
after the marquis of Wellesly went out governor general to In- 
dia, he learned that the Mabrattas who in general professed the 
religion of the Brahmins, and whose vast dominions stretched 
across that peninsula from Bombay nearly to Calcutta, spreading 
widely towards the north, and containing nearly forty millions of 
souls, were fast centering their power under a common head, 
being firmly opposed to the British, and as much inclined to the 
French. 

9. Alarmed at the ascendency which the British had obtained 
over the Mahomedan interest, to the soiith of them, by means oi 
the subjugation of Tippoo Saib's dominions, and the connexion 
formed with the Nizam, a large portion of the Mabrattas bad at- 
tempted to get into their exclusive possession the Peshwa, by 
whom the central government of the Mabrattas was represented ; 
and then to turn their attention to the British. 

10. Lord Wellesley, conceiving that no time was to be lost, 
first of all confirmed the connexion with the Nizam, by expelling 
the French from that quarter ; and then assembled five armies 
to attack the Mabrattas. Of these he gave one to his brother, 
sir Arthur Wellesley (now lord Wellington ;) another to gene- 
ral Lake ; a third he reserved to himself; and the remainder, 
with some small corps, he put under other suitable officers. The 
whole amounted to above fifty-five thousand men ; who com- 
menced attacks, nearly shnultaneous, in a variety of quarters. 

1 1 . Such was the efficacy of his preparations and combinations, 
and so fully were his views seconded, that m three months, im- 
mense armies of his enemies were routed, including one of forty 
thousand wholly controlled by the French ; seven hundred pie- 
ces of cannon were taken ; eight fortresses subdued ; and the 
Mahratta and the French confederacy crushed, throughout a 
square of nearly one thousand miles. 

12. And to finish this article in this place, it may be added, 
that as the whole of the Mabrattas were not concerned in this 
contest, the British found the remainder alarmed at such sue- , 
cesses. And this portion, under Holkar, menacing them witiij 



Chap. 37. GEOItGE HI. 303 

fresh struggles, a second campaign was undertaken against this 
noted chief, who, in spite of various disa:-ters, held out against 
them for two seasons. 

13. The improvement of the native powers, however, in the 
art of war, was manifested on the^e occnsions ; one Indian army 
at Assye having changed its position five times in one action, 
before it was finally beaten"; while the fortress at Bhurtpore 
unstained five assaults, in the last of which the British had one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four killed and wourxled, be- 
fore the garrison surrendered upon car»itulation. Along with 
Kolkarthe remains of French influence, in the Indian peninsula 
were for the time extingulsnci 

14. In short, lord Cornwallis, lord Wellesly and their succes- 
sors, have established military communications between all the 
great British possessions in India ; rcdr>ced the frontiers of the 
British dominions in that quarter, eitlier to sea coasts, or to lines 
comparatively straight ; humbled their fiercest enemies ; acquir- 
ed immense revenues ; imposed upon several, though not upon 
all of the native powers, the support of large bodies of their 
troops by treaty ; rooted out French ir.llncnce from Indian courts 
and Indian armies ; and prepared the terriiory for plans of inter- 
nal improvement, free from the check of any open foe 

15. Hand in hand with this extension of their power by arms, 
the British have accordingly souglit to establish among the na- 
tives the no less ellectual means of influence. They have en- 
deavoured to force upon their own civil olficei^, and others of 
their countrymen in these parts, aknov^ledge of the various lan- 
guages, customs and laws, prevailing ?.mong the natives of this 
vast peninsula ; and in this way Ivavv. est.ibiished a direct inter- 
course with the Brahmins ; as also furnislied British subjects ca- 
pable of presiding in courts of lav.-, and heading the departments 
of finance and agriculture, equally well with the natives. 

16. This policy, which was first set on foot by Mr. Hastings, -: 
has been powerfully supported by Mr. Wellesley and others. A 
civil college for ail sorts of learning suited to these objects sub- 
sists in England, and another in India ; besides three other col- 
leges in England, established for military objects, adapted to India, 
and the command of Indian troops. 

17. As a part of this policy, the British had from the first date 
of their acquiring command in India, governed there in the name 
of the descendants of the ancient Mogul (or Mahomedan) em- 
perors, who formerly conquered that peninsula. And Shah Alium 
at the age of ninety, was alive during these memoriable struggles, 
under lord Wellesley, lending his name to these proceedings, as 
emperor of India. The British were thus like the ancient 



304 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37. 

mayors of the palace, under the first raceof the kings of France, 
and hke the oria;inal peshwa of the Mahrattas. 

18. On the lifth of May 1804, France v/as formed into ^ ^ 
an empire, and Napoleon Bonaparte, who had risen by ^'nr^/ 
successive steps to the control of its destinies, was pro- 
claimed emperor of the French, and crowned by his holiness the 
pope, at Paris, on the second of December following. The as- 
sumption of this title, if it excited little surprise, created some 
disgust in foreign courts. Not only England, but Sweden, Aus- 
tria, and Russia, in the first instance, declined acknowledging it. 
But such were the power and influence of Bonaparte, that it was 
soon successively acceded to by most of the potentates of Eu- 
rope. 

19. As it was the object of the emperor of the French, *Ho 
conquer England on the continent,^'' so every measure was adopted 
that promised to aid in such an event. On the eighteenth of 
March, 1805, he assumed the additional title of king of Italy, 
styling himself emperor and king, and thus succeeded to the iron 
crown of the Lombards ; though the independence of this divi- 
sion of the Italian states had been guaranteed by the treaty of 
Luneviiie. On the first of the following May, he effected a 
change in the Dutch constitution, placing Schimmelpennick at 
the head of the government, under the title of grand pensionary, 
but subject to his own control. These, and other similar move- 
ments, which indicated an assumption of the balance of power 
of Europe into his own hands, alarmed the fears and roused the 
spirit of Austria. 

20. Though there was an alliance among several of the powers 
of Europe, to preserve the independence of the individual states, 
yet so feeble was this bond of union, and so diverse the objects 
of the different princes, that it was difhcult to maintain mutual 
peace between them, and still more so to brin^them to act in 
concert. Prussia was pacified or neutralized, by concessions 
which Fran'ce made in her feu'our, the most alluring of which 
was the ofi'er of the electorate of Hanover. Russia was too re- 
mote to be immediatel}^ prese"it at thescene of the action ; as the 
French forces were already on the borders of Germany. So 
that Austria was doomed to meet single handed, that power 
which would not have shrimk from a contest with the united 
forces of the continent. The manifesto of Francis II. was spirit- 
ed and determined, and the Austrians rushed to the field with 
ardour. But the contest was short and dieastrous. 

21. A campaign of two months, gave the emperor of the French 
the possession of Vienna, and all the strong holds of this part of 
Germany. The battles of Guntzburg, of Ulm, of Moelk, of Loe- 
ben, of Dierustein, of Fresburg, of Tinterdoff, and the famous 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III. 306 

concluding battle of Austerlitz, December second, effectually 
broke down and humbled the power of Austria. The articles of 
the treaty of peace at Presburg, December twenty-seventh, were 
such as the conqueror chose to dictate to the vanquished. 

22. At the moment victory was perching on the standard of 
Bonaparte on the continent, the naval power of Great Britain 
[gained a signal triumph over the combined fleets of France and 
Spain. Spain had become the faithful and devoted ally of the 
emperor of the Frencii. Her fleets and armies and treasures 
were at his disposal. This had led to open hostilities between 
England and Spain, at the close of the preceding year. 

23. Lord Nelson, who, from the breaking out of the war be- 
tween France and England, had been stationed on the enemy's 
coast, blockading her ports and watching the motions of her fleet, 
was now with a strong force in the neighbourhood of Cadiz. 
The combined fleets of France and Spain, had put into this port 
to refit, and were expected soon to sail for some distant expedi- 
tion. His lordship used every manoeuvre to induce them to put 
to sea, even lying at a distance, and concealing part of his force, 
though in its full amount inferior to that of the enemy. 

24. The combined fleet left Cadiz on the nineteenth of Octo- 
ber. Of this admiral Nelson v/as immediately notified ; and as 
the enemy sailed with light winds westerly, he concluded their 
destination was the Mediterranean, and immediately made all sail 
for the entrance of the straits, where he was informed they had 
not yet passed. The British fleet consisted of twenty-seven ships 
of the line, including three sixty-fours ; and the combined fleet, 
of thirty-three ships of the line, eighteen French and fifteen 
Spanish. ^ 

25. On the twenty-first of October, off Cape Trafalgar, lord 
Nelson discovered the combined fleet of the enemy, at the dis- 
tance of about three leagues, and immediately made signal for 
bis own fleet to bear up in two columns, as they formed in the 
jorder of sailing ; a mode of attack his lordship had previously 
Idirected, to avoid the inconvenience and delay in forming a line 
of battle in the usual manner, and to produce other advantages, 
particularly those of dividing and disconcerting the enemy. 

2G. The line of the combined fleet formed a crescent, convex- 
ing to leeward Admiral Villenoave, commander-in-chief, was 
n the Bucentaure, in the centre, and admiral Gravina, chief of 
che Spanish forces, in the Prince of Austurias, in the rear ; but 
he French and Spanish ships were mixed without any regard 
national order. Lord Nelson in the Victory, led the weather 
;olumn of the British fleet, and admiral Coilingvvood, in the 
^.oyal Sovereign, the leo. 

21. The action began at twelve o'clock, by the leading ships 



306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37, 

of the columns breaking througli the enemy's line in two places , 
the commander-in-chief pasi^ing about the tenth ship from the 
van, and the second in command, about the twelfth from the 
rear, leaving the van of the enemy unoccupied ; the succeeding 
ships breaking through in all parts astern of their leaders, and 
engaging the enemy at the muzzles of their guns. 

28. After a terrible conflict of three hours, in which was dis- 
played, on both sides, the most determined bravery, the line of 
the combined fleet gave way, many of their ships having already 
struck their colours. Admiral Gravina, with ten ships, joining 
their frigates to leeward, stood towards Cadiz. The five hind- 
most ships in their van tacked, and standing to windward of the 
British line, were engaged and the sternmostof them taken. In 
the course of the acfion, the Tcmeraire was boarded by accident 
or design, by a French ship on the one side, and a Spanish on 
the other. But after a vigorous contest, the combined ensigns 
were torn down, and the British hoisted in their places. 

29. The effects of this victory were the capture of nineteen 
ships of the line of the combined fleet, two of which were first 
rates, (the Santissima Triniuada and the Santa Anna,) togetlier 
Avith three flag officers, admiral Villeneuve, commander-in-chief, 
vice admiral Don Ignatio Maria DAliva, and rear admiral Don 
Balthazar Hidalgo Cisneros. A storm, however, which succeed 
ed the combat, prevented the whole of the captured ships being 
carried into port. 

30. Lord viscount Nelson, about the middle of the action, re- 
ceived a musket ball in his left breast, and sent an oflicer to ad- 
miral (afterwards lord) Collmgwood, with his last farewell, and, 
expired before the completion of the victory. The new com-; 
mander-in-chief, on tlie foiiovving day, issued a general order tOi 
the fleet, appointing a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God, for 
the success with which he hud crowned tbeir exertions, implor- 
ing the forgiveness of sins, and the continuation of divine aid to 
them, in defence of their country's liberty and laws. 

31. This has justly been considered as one of the most cele-j 
brated events in naval history ; an event, which, while it gavej 
to Great Britain cause of universal mourning in the death ofl 
Nelson, gave her also cause of triuinph in the ahnost entire anni- j 
hilation of the fleets of lier enemies. Mr. Pitt, who since the| 
peace of Amiens, had been again called to the headof aflairs in the ^ 
British nation, died on the twenty-diird of January, 1806 ; and 
Mr. Fox, his great political rival, after some immaterial changes,^ 
succeeded to the Foreign Seals. 

32. As Mr. Fox had uniforml v opposed the wnr, this call of himj 
to the councils of state, was viewed by many, as a change oj 
poHcy. To those who had attribute ^ *^c continuance of bosti^ 



^nap. 37. GEORGE III. 307 

lities to passions or errors in the British cabinet, bis elevation 
to office appeared, like the bow in the clouds, an indication that 
the stornn was over. The government of France evidently view- 
ed it in this light. They hoped for terms of peace that had 
hitherto been refused them. Negotiations were entered upon, 
and propositions on both sides made for the attainment of this 
object ; but these attempts, like those which preceded them, 
issued only in a more vigorous prosecution of the war. 

33. The obstacles to a peace were not of such a nature, that 
they might be removed by mutual courtesy, or by trivial con- 
cessions ; but rested on the grand principles, for which the war 
was mutuall}'^ undertaken. England would not make peace with- 
out the security of the independence of the other powers of Eu- 
rope ; and France, however peace might promote her internal 
interests, would not purchase it by abandoning her control over 
the continent. The offers of France, for a separate peace were 
specious in name at least. 

34. She professed to be ready to restore to Great Britain the 
electorate of Hanover, and the Cape of Good Hope, and to con- 
firm her in the possession of Malta ; giving, as the French minis- 
ter phrased it, Hanover for the honour of the crown, Malta for 
the honour of the navy, and the Cape of Good Hope for the 
honour of the British commerce. But the subjugation of Eng^ 
land by Bonaparte seemed as sure, though not so sudden, by ob- 
taining a control over the continent, as by the success of the 
previous project of invasion. 

35. Hence Mr. Fox gave M. Talleyrand distinctly to under- 
stand, that England could not neglect the interests of any of her 
allies ; ^nd that she was united to Russia by such close connex- 
ions, that she would not treat, unless in concert with the empe- 
ror Alexander. The French minister, in reply, objected to 
the intervention of other powers, but repeated the desire, and 
pressed the importance of a separate peace. Mr. Fox, under 
date of April twentieth, reduced the affair to a single point ; 
** Will you negotiate conjointly with Russia ? We answer, yes ; 
but if you require us to negotiate separately, we answer no." 

36. Here Mr. Fox cast anchor, and from this birth he was 
never driven. And at his death, September thirteenth, his suc- 
cessor kept the same station. Though the administration of Mr. 
Fox did not effect a peace, it was distinguished by an occurrence, 
interesting to every friend of humanity. On the eleventh of 
June he introduced a resolution into the house of commons, for 
the entire abolition of the African slave trade. And though 
ma«y previous attempts had proved abortive, it was carried by 
the overwhelming majority of 115 to 15. 

I 37. The adoption of this resolution was followed with sucll 



308 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37. 

measures, as to put an effectual stop, so far as Great Britain was 
concerned, to that inhuman traffic, the existence of which had 
long been a standing odium to a great part of Christendom. In 
the course of the debate, it was stated from documents before 
the commons, that since the year 1792, upwards of three millions 
and a half of the natives of Africa had been torn from their coun- 
try, by different christian powers of Europe, and had either mise- 
rably perished on the passage, or had been sold in the West 
Indies. 

38. To effect a more decisive control over the continent, and 
to have the resources of the several nations more immediately 
at his disposal, the emperor of the French crowned his brother 
Joseph king of Naples and Sicily, on the tenth of May. And 
having erected Holiiiiid into a kingdom, gave it to Lewis, another 
of his brothers, whose coron<1tion he caused to be celebrated 
Tvith great splendor at St. Cloud, on the fifth of June. 

39. But what was more material to his interest, was the es- 
tablishment of the Confederation of the Rhine, or a Continental 
System, in which the princes of Germany, annulhng their obli- 
gations to the German empire, in virtue of which they held their 
iiefs, put themselves under the protection of Bonaparte. In 
consequence of this, Francis II. on the seventh of August, pub- 
lished his resignation of the office of emperor of Germany, and 
dissolved that ancient constitution. 

40. Prussia had long since separated her cause from that of 
the Geruianic empire, and had lately given the pernicious ex- 
ample of a separate peace. She had been a quiet spectator of 
tke humiliation of Austria, having been neutralized, as has al- 
ready been stated, by promises and concessions in her favour, <j 
and especially by the gift of Hanover. But the hour (5f Prussia 
was now come. 

41. Bonaparte, finding that this electorate would be an element 
of some moment in effecting a peace with England, hadresumed^ 
the gift of it to himself; and in the negotiations with Mr. Fox,] 
his minister suggested that there woula be no reluctance in re- 
storing it to its original owner, in exchange for Sicily, or upon 
any other pacific adjustment. And this resumption of Hanover J 
which indeed his troops had never evacuated, the emperor ol 
the, French accompanied with such communications to the kin^ 
of Prussia, as were no way calculated to soothe the feelings oT 
wounded pride. 

42. This was among the chief causes, (for many were men.* 
tioned in the manifesto,) that excited Prussia to arms. Indig- 
nant at being treated with so little ceremony, and considered ofj 
so little weight in the scale of Europe, her monarch summoned 
M his forces, to demand in war, what he could not obtain ial 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III. 30& 

peace. And as he entered the lists for an object, and almost the 
only one, in which England could not join ; so the suddennoesof 
the preparations with a people, who though brave were yet long 
accustomed to peace, rendered him altogether inadequate to meet, 
\inaided, those opposing forces, %vbich had been unremittingly 
exercised in the held, and were flushed with recent victories. 

43. The consequence was, the downfall of the monarchy in 
the first battle. The defeat at Jena, on the fourteenth of Octo- 
ber, decided for the present, the fate of Prussia. The conquests 
which followed were so rapid, and effected with so little resist- 
ance, as to resemble rather the peaceful assumption of undisput- 
ed territories, than the hostile progress of an invader. The 
Prussian monarch with the wreck of his forces, flew to the ex- 
tremity of his dominions, and threw himself for relief upon the 
Russian army. 

44. Before the close of 1807, Bonaparte seized upon the king- 
dom of Portugal ; and entrapped Spain also so firmly, a1 to think 
himself sure of his prey. The pretext for the occupation of 
Portugal by the French troops was the admission of English ves- 
sels into her ports. The government of France endeavoured 
accordingly to tranquilize the prince regent, assuring him that 
the troops which had entered the kingdom, were intended only 
to guard the coasts, and that he should still be respected as the 
governor of Portugal. 

45. But the court of Lisbon, being awake to its danger, the 
prince regent and royal family availed themselves of the offer of 
a British squadron, to convoy them to the Brazils. Bonaparte 
then declared, in his oracular style, though the event has been 
otherwise, "that the house of Braganza had ceased to reign." 
The British squadron sailed November twenty-ninth, and on the 
following day the French troops, under general Junot entered 
Lisbon. 

46. So submissive was the court of Spain, then governed by 
the famous prince of peace, as to suffer the armies of France to 
pass through her dominions for the invasion of Portugal. This 
was the signal of ruin to Spain. Disturbances at Madrid, in the 
following spring, induced Charles IV. to resign the crown, in 
favour of his son, the prince of Asturias, who assumed the title 
of Ferdinand VII. 

47. But Bonaparte interfered and compelled the son to restore 
the government to the father ; and in a subsequent interview, 
in the neighbourhood of Bayonne, whither Bonaparte invited 
both these royal personages, he extorted an abdication of their 
dominions from each, assumed the sceptre to himself, declared 

Ithe Spanish dynasty to be no more, and proclaimed his brother 
Joseph king of Spain and of i^ie Indies. The conduct and fate 



310 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. SI, 

of Spain arc a fresh testimony to the world, that the utniost suh- 
serviency to the views of Bonaparte can procure no higher pri- 
rilege, than to be last among the victims that are sacrificed. 

48. But Spain, though conquered, was never subdued ; though 
overrun with the French troops, the spirit of the people was 
never subjected to the yoke. The feelings of the Spaniards re- 
volted at the insults offered to the royal family ; and the sight ot 
the chains forged for the nation drove them to madness. They 
every where flew to arms. But individual and disconnected 
exertions of bravery, though for a time successful, cannot long 
withstand a corps of disciplined troops, when brought forward 
in sufficient numbers. 

49. The British forces, under sir John Moore, marshal Be- 
resford, and lord Wellington, have however secured Portugal 
from the French, and disconcerted all their measures in Spain. 
The battles of Vimeira, of Corunna, of Talavera, of Almeida, 
of Albuefa, and especially that of Vittoria, with those which fol- 
lowed, while they have called forth the exertions and disclosed 
the energies of the Portuguese and Spaniards, have also thrown 
a lustre upon the British arms. 

50. Indeed Portugal and Spain have found in lord Wellington, 
another Marlborough, who has met and successively beaten, Ju- 
not, Victor, Maseena, Marmont, Ney, Jourdan, Soult, and other 
cele]>rated generals of Frtince. By his exertions, so happily 
seconded by the obstinacy and patience of the Spanish nation, 
Joseph Bonaparte has been driven from his usurped throne and 
dominions, and the French forces expelled from almost every 
fortress in the peninsula. 

5 1 . These events mentioned thus summarily, cost a four years 
struggle, with many disasters, which for the time threatened to 
render every exertion for the independence of Spain unavailing. 
Ferdinand being kept in captivity in France, the cortes and the 
successive regencies in his name, though tilled with enthusiasm 
at first, became weakened by internal divisions. 

52. The Spaniards had also to contend with the inability or 
infidelity of many of their own leaders, both military and civil. 
But every obstacle was ultimately overcome by a spirit of patri- 
otism. A signal instance of this was found in the marquis count 
Romana. He had been drawn to the north to serve under Bo- 
naparte ; But hearing of the oppression in Spain, he revolted 
from the French Avith ten thousand men, and under British pro- 
tection, returned to tight the battles of his country. 

53. It is worthy of remark, that the same Spanish nation which 
had in former ages so obstinately defended Saguntum against the 
Carthagenians, and Numantia against the Romans themselves, 
has since rendered itself no less memorable in maintaining the 



i 



fhap. 37. GEORGE III 31 

towns of Sarragossa and Gerona against the French. In keeping 
the field under every disadvant.fge against the discipHned troops 
of an enemy, in the present contest, they have only copied their 
own conduct in tiie famous war for tiie Spanish succession, in 
the beginning of the last century. 

64. While these occurrences have been taking place in Por» 
tugal and Spain, Bonaparte has been extending his influence and 
fixing his control over other parts of Europe. The treaty of 
Tilsit, in the summer of 1807, between Bonaparte, Alexander, 
and the king of Prussia, so identified the interests of France and 
Russia, that the latter was induced, as well as Prussia, to declare 
war against England, in the autumn of the same year. 
' . 55. As the subjugation of England was a prim;;ry object with 
the French emperor in all his wars on the continent, he attempt- 
ed^ to establish the principles of the Confederation of the Rhine, 
with every power over whom he had influence. This was the 
more necessary to his plans, as the Berlin decree, by which he 
had declared the British islands in a state of blockade, was ren- 
dered nugatory for the want of a navy to enforce it, except the 
governments under his control could be induced to acquiesce in 
it, by putting an interdict upon their commerce with England. 

56. The present war has been fruitful in attempts at negotia- 
tion, real or affected. Alexander and Napoleon met at Erfurth 
in October of 1808, professedly to settle the aftairs of Europe : 
and addressed a joint letter to the king of England on the subject 
of peace. Mr. Canning the British secretary of state, replied, 
that the communication should be immediately laid before the 
king of Sweden, and the existing government of Spain, his ma- 
jesty's then allies. But the French minister insisted that France 
had as much right to demand the admission of the Irish insur- 
gents to be parties to the negotiation, as England had to claim 
this privilege in favour of the insurgents cf Spain. 
I 57. The affair was closed by the observation of Mr. Canning, 
ithat the cause of the Spanish insurgents, as they were termed, 
!was that of the Spanish nation and the legitimate Spanish mo- 
inarchy, and that the central and supreme government, acting for 
Ferdinand VII. must be a party to the negotiation, as the cause 
of Spain could not be abandoned, without giving sanction to an 
[usurpation which had no parallel in the history of the world. 

58. An attempt similar to the preceeding was afterwards 
made by the intervention of Holland, and was alike fruitless in 
its issue. Bonaparte had notified the government of Holland, 
that its poUtical existence depended upon the dispositions o'i 
Great Britain, in respect to peace with France. And of course 
Lewis has since abdicated the throne of Holland, and that coun- 
'jiV^ has become incorporated with the French empire. 



312 HISTORY OF ENGLyVNIX CEapTS? 

59. On the twenty-fifth of October, 1 809, his majesty, the king 
©f Great Britain, entered upon the fiftieth year of his reign ; and 
a day of jubilee was kept on the occasion. But before he had 
completed his half century, the maladies to which he had been 
at times subject, were so increased as to render him incapable 
of the administration of government ; and the prince of Wales, 
on the sixth of February, 1811, was installed as prince regent 
of the empire, his power being made subject for a time to seve 
ral limitations. 

60. In the summer of 1812, great preparations were made 
oy Bonaparte for the invasion of Russia. It may be needful to 
take a summary view of the state of the world at the time of 
this expedition. Great Britain had not a single ally who could 
furnish troops to impede the progress of the French emperor in 
the north of Europe ; the negotiations wfth Sweden not being 
yet perfected. The temporary regencies of Spain and Portu- 
gal were employed in coiijunction with English troops, in secur 
ing the independence of their own territories. Germany, Swit- 
zerland, Holland, Italy, and the chief of Poland were enlisted 
under the banners of Bonaparte. 

61. On the other hand, the American congress, on the eigh 
teenth of June, declared war against Great Britain, by a vote o* 
seventy-nine to forty-nine in the house of representatives, and 
nineteen to thirteen in the senate ; in return for which the British 
parliament decided unanimously to support the prince regent in 
the prosecution of the war declared against them by the United 
States of America. 

62. In this state of things Bonaparte dared to throw the gaunt- 
let to the emperor of all the Russias. His troops, collected from 
France and his tributary powers, amounted, by his own estima- 
tion, to six hundred and twenty thousand. The cause of this 
mvasion, according to the statement of the French emperor 
was the refusal of Alexander, to exclude English ships and Eng- 
lish merchandise from his ports ; and Alexander on his side, 
added, what France could not deny, that some German terri- 
tory which was to come to him bj^ descent, had been seized 
without ceremony by Bonaparte. 

63. The French troops entered the territories of Russia, in 
June ; but as they advanced, these territories were found suc- 
cessively laid waste. The battles of Polotsk, of Berezina, of 
Ostrovno, and Smolensk, though they did not prevent the French 
armies from progressing towards the heart of the empire, were 
fought with an ardour and obstinacy, which further indicated a 
determination in the Russians to die in defence of the soil 
The battle of Borodino on the seventh of September, was the; 
most sanguinary conflict in mod«rn times. L 

I 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III. 313 

64. The French attacked the Russian entrenchments, through 
the whole Hue, about six o'clock in the morning. Various bat- 
teries were taken and retaken. The carnaj^e was horrible 
through a great part of the day. The Russians remained masters 
of the field, till the morning of the ninth ; and from thence, 
Kutusoff, the Russian commander-in-chief, issued his account 
of the battle the day after it was fought. Convinced that they 
could not sustain another such conflict, the Russians retired, but 
it was without molestation. 

65. Bonaparte, who had retreated eight miles, remained quiet 
till the ninth, and then passed over the field of battle to Mojaisk, 
where he published his first account of this engagement on the 
tenth. Though it is difficult to ascertain with precision the 
numbers engaged ; yet Bonaparte had probably about one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand, and the Russians somewhat less. The 
loss on both sides was considered as nearly equal ; not fewer 
than forty thousand on each side being killed or seriously 
wounded. 

66. The advanced guard of the French entered Moscow on 
the fourteenth of this month, the Russians having withdrawn to 
give them passage. From the Kremlin, the ancient palace of 
the czars, Bonaparte had before stated, that he should dictate 
the terms of peace. But this vast city was set on fire by the 
inhabitants, and by order of its governor, in three hundred places 
at the same time. The flames, which raged for five days, left 
not a tenth part of the city standing. 

67. Here the disasters of Bonaparte commenced. He could 
not but see, that a people who would sacrifice a city held in ex- 
treme veneration, rather than it should fall into the hands of an 
enemy, were not a people to be subdued. At this moment, 
general Beningsen defeated Mu rat, the brother-in-law of Bona- 
parte, in sight of BIoscow. A retreat was immediately resolved 
upon ; biltin the event it proved a continued series of disasters. 
One of the finest bodies of troops ever collected, was altogether 
destroyed, by the joint effects of an inclement season, and a 
pursuing enemy. 

68. From Bonaparte's own account, his army must have suf- 
fered more from the united horrors of the sword, cold, famine, 
and continual fatigue and alarm, through the whole month ofNo- 
\'ember, than is recorded ever to have been suffered before, by 
so large an army, in so short a period, in modern times. The 
French were continually harrassed by the Cossacks, in their front, 
flanks, and rear ; they were beaten in every pitched battle ; and 
the horse and his rider fell by iiundreds, and by thousands, stiff- 
ened by frost, and finding sepulclires in the snow. 

69. At-lhe close of the year, the very small remnant of th 



Chap. sr. GEORGE III. 314 

French army, principally officers, were at Marienbourg, Mari- 
enwerder, Elbing, and Thorn, on the Vistula. Tliis remnant 
was, for the most part, collected from the fragments of the corps 
lying in the rear ; the army from Moscow having become almost 
utterly extinct by the middle of December. 

70. One hundred and thirty thousand were taken prisoners ; 
and out of three hundred thousand, exclusive of Austrians, that 
penetrated into the territories of Russia, not thirty thousand eve* 
revisited their country. The loss of the army included the loss 
of about twelve hundred pieces of cannon, forty-nine stand of 
colors, sixty thousand horses, and immense quantities of ammu- 
nition and baggage. The Russian official accounts make the 
bodies of their enemies found dead on their soil, to amount to 
three hundred thousand. 

71 . Bonaparte left the army at the close of November, accom- 
panied with a small body guard to Wilna, and thence, under a 
borrowed name, and with a single attendant, proceeded to Paris, 
where he arrived on the evening of the eighteenth of December, 
and on the following day related himself the failure of the cam- 
paign, and the annihilation of his forces. 

72. Such an overwhelming event, almost unparalleled in the 
wars of ambition, might have discouraged any further eftbrts ; 
but it seemed to call forth new vigor. Decrees of the Conser- 
vative Senate immediately placed at the disposal of the empe- 
ror three hundred and fifty thousand men, besides forty thousand 
cavalry, to be raised by the cities and communes, at their own 
expense. With these, together v, ith troops raised from his de- 
pendent provinces, constituting an army nearly equal to the 
former, he took the field again in May, 1813, determined to 
wipe off the disgrace his defeat had occasioned, and retrieve his 
past losses. 

73. It will be a relief to the mind to turn, for a moment, from 
the noise of battle to a contemporary event, which more imme- 
diately affects the evangelical kingdom of the great Prince of 
Peace. The East India Company, through over anxiety lest 
other nations should have influence in their possessions in the 
east, or from some other motive, had prevented missionaries 
from residing among them, to spread the light of the gospe 
among the benighted natives. Brahmins and Mahomedans. 

74. To remedy this evil, lord Castlereagh, on the 22d of 
June, introduced into the house of commons a resolution, thai 
sufficient facilities should be granted by law to persons desi- 
rous of going to, and remaining in India, for the purpose of af- 
fording to the native isihabitants of the Brithish dominions the 
means of moral and religious improvement; with a proviso, 
tliat the authority of the local governments, respecting the inter- 
course of Europeans with the interior of the country should be 



I 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III. 316 

preserved, and that the principles of the British government, on 
which the natives of India have iiitherto relied for the free ex- 
ercise of their religion, should be inviolably maintained. The 
resolution was carried by a large majority in the commons ; and 
passed the house of lords, on the following day, v.ithout a dis- 
senting voice. 

76. By this act impediments are at once removed, and a door 
opened for the exertions of christian missionaries, in enlighten- 
ing and evangelizing many millions of the natives of India, now 
wedded to the grossest idolatries. It would be improper to over- 
look the memorable part which the inhabitants of Great Britain 
at large took on this important occasion. About nine hundred 
petitions to parliament in favour of the resolution, signed by nearly 
half a million of persons, sufficiently testify the deep and exten- 
sive interest felt in a question so intimately involving the honoui- 
of God, the success of tlie Redeemer's kingdom, and the best 
good of man. 

76. It has already been mentioned that Bonaparte had collect- 
ed a new army, and again taken the tield. He arrived in the 
neighbourhood of Dresden in May. But the state of things had 
become materially changed. The flight of the French before 
the Russians, in the preceding autumn, had inspired the king ot 
Prussia with the hope of again recovering his own independence, 
and determined him to make one more desperate effort for a 
rank among the nations. His generals Von Yorcke, and Mas- 
senbach, with large corps of troops, abandoned the French cause 
and went over to the Russians, and were soon followed in this 
by their sovereign. 

77. With this new arrangement of forces, the summer cam- 
paign began ; and two severe battles were fought, in which both 
sides claimed the victory. If the French obtained any advanta- 
ges, they were of so little avail to them, that Bonaparte not only 
eould not advance into Poland, to relieve Dantzic and the other 
fortresses there, in which, at his retreat, he had left large garri- 
sons ; but he thought proper immediately to propose an armis- 
tice, which took place June the fourth. 

78. Austria interposed to procure a peace among the parties, 
being authorised to that effect by fresh declarations of Bonaparte 
but she has gince reproached him with checking her efforts, and 
even her opportunities for effecting this purpose. The armis- 
tice was afterwards extended on account of the delays thus pro- 
duced ; but came to its close without effect, on the sixteenth of 
August at midnight. 

79. The emperor of Austria, whose subjectic^li t«. ^he control 
of Bonaparte had not arisen from choice, but necessity, thought 
ih'dt he saw a fair opportunit.v for reasserting his rights ; anct 



316 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37. 

joined himself with the Russians, Prussians, and Swedes, against 
the French. An understanding had also taken place between 
Russia, Prussia, and England. So that Bonaparte now found 
himself opposed by the confederated powers of Great Britain 
Russia, Austria, Prussia, f»nd Sweden ; whose joint forces col- 
lected in Germany, amounting to a])out a half a million, equalled 
in number the army of Bonaparte, composed of Frenchmen and 
troops from the tributary states, many of whom were recruits. 

80. A concentration of the French forces was made at Dres- 
den, which the emperor of France had taken great pains to place 
in a strong position of defence. He made it his head quarters, 
and had with him, within its walls, one hundred and forty thou- 
sand men. The allies determined to dislodge him from this posi- 
tion. The plan of attack on Dresden is said to have been ar . 
ranged by general Moreau. 

81. On the twenty-seventh of August the gardens in front ot 
the town, were attacked by Wilgenstein, on whom the chief com- 
mand of the combined armies liad devolved, upon the death of 
Kutousoff. The battle raged from four in the afternoon, till in 
the night. The French retired behind the strong walls of the 
city. At the approach of night, the French troops, to the amount 
of about thirty thousand, made a sortie, and compelled the assail- 
ants to retreat, with the loss of four thousand men. 

32. On the twenty-eighth Bonaparte put himself in motion 
with a strong force, and an immense train of artillery, to attack 
the allied armies on the heights around the city. His chief re- 
Jiance was on his artillery, and the cannonade was tremendous. 
The alHes were driven from their position, with the loss of six 
thousand men. General Moreau received a mortal wound, of 
which he died soon after the engagement. 

83. The armies of the confederates were continually increas- 
ing, and their corps concentrating on the north bank of the Elbe. 
They resolved to cross that river, and move their forces upon 
Leipsic, which is situated about midway between the Mulda, and 
the Saale. TLe erown prince of Sweden was the first to cross 
the Elbe ; he was followed by general Blucher, who effected tlie 
passage of the Elster. On the following day, October the fourth, 
he was met by general Bertrand, who was compelled to retreat, 
after a sanguinary conflict. 

84. It now became an object of great interest to both parties 
to possess themselves of Leipsic, With that view, on the seventl^ 
Napoleon quitted Dresden, and posted himself at Rochlitz, twen- 
ty-five miles south of Leipsic. He assembled at this post about 
twenty thousand men. On the tenth the armies of the crowa 
prince and Blucher formed a junction at Zorbig, and resolveo 
Jo effect a passage of the Saale, Bavaria now joined the con^ 



Chap. 37. GEORGE III. 317 

federates, and sent forward a reinforcement cf fifty-five thousand 
troops to act in concert with the Austrian army. 

85. On tiie tenth Bhicher attacked the French army under 
marshals Ney and Marmont, and general Bertrand, between Syl- 
bitz and Leipsic. The conflict was bloody — the allies lost seven 
thousand, killed and wounded, and the French twelve thousand. 
On the sixteenth a general engagement commenced, the slaugh- 
ter was dreadful, and victory doubtful, when night closed the 
battle. The following day opened nith the thunder of artillery, 
and the onset of the mightiest armies tliat have contended in lat- 
ter ages. Victory declared against France — the sun of her glory 
was setting. 

86. The emperor of Paissia, the king of Prussia, and the crown 
prince, were in the battle. The loss of the French is stated at 
forty thousand, killed and w^ounded, sixty-five pieces of artillery. 
On the eighteenth the emperor of Russia, the king of Prussia, 
and crown prince entered Leipsic. Napoleon had lied. Thus 
the armies of France were crippled almost beyond recovery, 
and the combined armies v/cre ready, with no barrier to inter- 
cept them, to pour their victorious legions into France. 

87. While France was vainlj^ "endeavouring to defend herself 
in the north, her affairs were not less disasterous in the south. 
She had received the frst check to her career of conquest in 
Spain. There the northern nations hud learned that she was 
not invincible. At the beginning of the contest in the north, the 
afiairs had been much neglected by Napoleon ; he had even re- 
moved marshal Soult, his best general in Spain, to the army of 
the north ; Ijut the success of liis enemies on the Peninsula con- 
vinced him, that his southern frontier could not be left exposed 
without imminent hazard. 

88. Wellington had compelled the king of Spain to abandon 
Madrid. He had driven general Clausel from all his positions 
on the north side of the Douro — had destroyed or put to flight, 
almost the whole French army in Spain, and now threatened to 
seize the two strongest frontier fortresses, and pass the Pyrenees 
into France. Upwards of forty thousand men were levied, and 
Soult was ordered to take the command. All wr.s in vain. Heaven 
had determined to overthrow the Napoiean dynasty. Though 
Bonaparte exerted all his skill in directing his army, and though 
his troops displayed prodigies of valour, yet they could not re- 
tard the victorious career of their enemy. 

89. On the thirty-first of October Pampeluna surrendered to 
the English and Spanish armif:s. Post after post fell, and Wet 
Vngton forced his passage across the Pyrenees into France 
Bayonne and Toulouse fell into his hands, and Bourdeaux declar 
(id in favour of the Bourbons* a^jainst Napoleon. France «as no\t 



318 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. S7. 

invaded in her turn, and experienced the ravages of hostile 
armies. 

90. Nor did affairs assume a more auspicious attitude in the 
north. After the battle of Leipsic, Bonaparte returned to Paris, 
and did his utmost to recruit his armies, and restore his exhaust- 
ed finances ; but the efforts of the preceding campaigns had crip- 
pled the empire, and prostrated all her energies. He raised in- 
deed considerable reinforcements, but no talents could replenish 
iiis treasury. While he was thus employed the combined ar- 
mies were crossing the Rhine. The Cossacks were advancing 
upon his capital. He could only make a show of resistance to 
the torrent of destruction, that was desolating France. 

91. He was beaten at La Giberie, La Rotherie, Brienne, 
Troyes, and Soissons. At Craone, on the seventh of March, 1814, 
he attacked Winzingerode, and defeated him. On the ninth he 
commenced an attack upon Blucher at Laon, but after two days 
fighting could not force him from his position. 

92. Withdrawing his troops from Laon he moved towards 
llheims, which fell into his hands. On his rout he met, and de- 
feated general Priest. These partial successes of Napoleon in- 
duced prince Schwartzenburgh, who was approaching the Rhine, 
to retreat to Arcis sur Aube, where he awaited Bonaparte, who 
wMs advancing to attack him. 

93. Napoleon, however, had too much foresight to rely on 
these slight successes. Wellington was advancing from the south, 
and powerful armies were at the gates of his capital. He made 
overtures for a negotiation, which was opened at Chattilion. But 
hostiliti.}i were not suspended. On the twenty -fifth he failed in 
his attack on Schwartzenburgh at Arcis. The allies now con- 
centered their forces to the number of two hundred thousand^ 
und marched upon the cnpital of France. 

94. Bonaparte had ordered the city to be defended to the last 
e-xtremity, announcing that he was on his march for its relief. 
The French had taken a position on the lieights of Montmartre, 
which was defended by one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, 
and Paris was covered by eight tho':sand regulars, and thirty 
thousand national guards. This fcice, however, was utterly in- 
sufficient. On the tirst of April the senate met, and on the se- 
cond decreed, '^ That the emperor Napoleon and his flimily, 
have forfeited all right to the throne, and consequently have ab- 
solved the French people, ;md the army, from their oath of al- 
fegience." 

95. This was announced to Bonaparte at Fountainbleu, who, 
after several fruitless attempts at negotiation, signed a formal ab- 
dication of the throne of France, in behalf of himself and his 
heirs forever. It was stipulated^ that he should retire to th^ 



Chap. 37. GEORGE ilf. 319 

island of Elba, with a revenue of two hui»:lrea ana tirty thousand 
pounds sterling, and possess the dominion of the island, with the 
title of emperor. He departed eoou afterwards. 

96. Louis XVIII was forced iuio the throne of his ancestors 
by the arms of foreigners, and contrary to tlie wishes of a large 
majority of the French nation. The Roman pontiff was re-es- 
tablished as the head of the church. Thus after all the vast ex- 
penditure of blood and treasure by England, and the continental 
powers, the old order was restored, and ignorance and supersti- 
tion reinstated in their dominion. 

97. We will now turn to the affairs of England in the new 
world. It has been already stated, that in 18 12 war was declar- 
ed by the United States against Great Britain. The followino- 
are some of the reasons for the measure. The extension of the 
American commerce, during the wars in Europe, excited the 
jealousy of Britain. It was to be expected, that the vast power 
of England on the ocean, vvouid be^employed to check the grow- 
ing spirit of American commerciid enterprise. It was unlikely 
too, that the people of America would tamely submit to restraints*^. 

98. The European wars tlirew the carrying trade into the 
hands of the American shippers. To distress her enemy, Britain 
proclaimed a blockade of the principal ports under the influence 
of France. Large as their naVal power was, it could not enforce 
this paper blockade ; but a pretext was afforded, for the seizure 
©f American produce, and iinmeiiso epoliations by British cruis- 
ers was the consequence. 

99. American seamen were impressed, and compelled to serve 
in the Enghsh navy, for an unlimited term. It was believed, 
that British traders from Canada fomented a spirit of savage war- 
fare, among the Indians on the frontiers of the United States. 
On the other hand, the British gorernment charged that of the 
United States, with subserviency to the politics of France. To 
<)btain indemnity for British spoliations, and to cut off all oppor 
tunity of exciting the hostility of the Indians, was the avowed 
object of the American government. 

100. Governor Hull, who had been an ofiicer in the revolu- 
tionary war, took command of two thousand regulars, and one 
thousand five hundred volunteers, and encamped on the fifth of 
July, at Spring Wells, opposite Sandwich. He made a descent 
-on Canada in five days after his arrival on the frontiers. 

101 . To the surprise of all, he soon retreated across the river, 
«nd posted himself at Detroit. He was pursued by the British 
xmder general Brock, who summoned, and obtained possession 
of the fortress, without resistance. Thus all the military stores, 
aad the Michigan territori^ fell lato the Lands of the Britiab 



320 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37, 

Astonishment at the unexpected event pervaded all ranks of the 
American people. 

102. But triumph soon followed this disaster. The British 
frigate Guerriere was taken by captain Hull, commander of the 
American frigate Constitution, in thirty minutes. Thf; Guer- 
riere was so completely reduced to a wreck, by the lire of the 
Constitution, that she could not be carried into port, and was 
burned the next day. This was the commencement of a glorious 
career of American victories on the ocean. 

103. The Alert, the Swallow, the Frohc, and Macedonian, 
were captured by the American navy the same season. The 
Wasp and Frolic were taken by the British frigate Poictiers, 
Besides the public vessels, a swarm of American privateers co- 
vered the ocean, and crippled tie commerce of Britain, by the 
capture of numerous and valuable prizes. 

104. The war on land was prosecuted with various success ; 
but the conquest of Canada utterly failed. Great part of the 
Indians were the alhes of Britain. Near the close of the year 
the British frigate Java was captured and burned by commodore 
Bainbridge in the Constitution. 

105. It was thought, by both the belligerents, that the fate of 
("anada was suspended on the issue of naval engagements on th-e 
lakes. The British had made great preparations on lake Erie. 
Their fleet, under captain Barclay, consisted of six vessels, mount- 
ing sixty-three guns. The American fleet, nnder captain Perry, 
consisted of nine vessels, mounting fifty -four guns. 

106. On the tenth of September, the two fleets met, at the 
mouth of Put-in-bay. At 11 A. BI. the lines were formed, and 
the battle began. After three hours of close lighting, the whole 
of the British ileet was captured. The British loss was two 
iumdred killed and wounded , and six hundred taken prisoners ; that 
of the Americans twenty-seven killed, and ninety-six wounded. 

107. The army, under general Harrison, and the volunteers 
under governor Shelby, passed the lake, and attacked the British 
troops commanded by general Proctor, and the Indians, under 
the noted Tecumseh, on the river Thames. The Americans 
gained a signal victory ; killing great numbers, and taking six 
hundred prisoners, the general's carriage, and all his papers. 

108. Elated by these successes, the Americans expected that 
Canada would soon be conquered. The command of the army 
had been resigned by g;eneral Dearborn, and given to general 
Wilkinson. General Hampton commanded a separate detach- 
ment. General Wilkinson's force amounted to eight thousand, 
and a reinforcement was daily expected. It was resolved to at- 
tack Montreal, leaving several forts unreduced. 

109. The British had strengthened their fortifications, concen- 



Onap. 57. GEORGE III. 321 

lered their forces, and taken the best measures of defence. 
When they found the grand attack was to be made on Montreal, 
and the American army was descending the St. Lawrence, they 
despatched their best troops to harrass the invaders in the rear. 
The season was far advanced, and a misunderstanding happening 
between the commanding oflkers, general Wilkinson was com- 
pelled to go into winter quarters, without effecting the intended 
object. 

1 10. The loss of the Americans, in several engagements, was 
considerable. In the battle of Christler's field, they had general 
Covington, and a hundred and two men killed, and two hundred 
and thirty-seven wounded. By these events, sir George Pre- 
vost, the commander-in-chief of the British troops, saw himself, 
for another winter at least, in quiet possession of the province. 

111. The success of the British and continental arms in pros- 
trating France, 'and the consequent peace in Europe, left almost 
the whole naval force of Britain at liberty, to be employed in 
the war against America ; and those who had served in Spain, 
disengaged from European wars, might now be employed to fight 
against the enemy in the new world. 

112. Great Britain rose in her demands, and it is thought 
even meditated the dissolution of the Union, and the annexation 
of, at least, a part to her American possessions. Negotiations 
had been opened, but they proved ineffectual. These considera- 
tions were sufficient to have spread a gloom over the American 
public ; but, like the Romans, they seem to have increased their 
energies in proportion as the dangers which threatened them in- 
creased. 

113. New levies were raised; loans were negotiated, and 
large appropriations were made to increase the navy. The Bri- 
tish resolved to harrass the coasts, and powerful fleets, early in 
the spring, were in the American seas. Hampton, Havre de 
Grace, and other villages, were plundered, burnt, and laid waste. 
The bold resolution was taken to seize the city of Washington,, 
the capital of the commonwealth. This enterprise was commit- 
ted to general Ross. 

114. On the nineteenth of August, the troops destined for this 
undertaking arrived at Benedict, and the next day their debark- 
ation was completed. The detachment consisted of about six 
thousand troops. The American forces under general Winder, 
destined for the defence of Washington, amounted to no more 
than three thousand, of whom one thousand five hundred were 
raw militia, when general Ross was within twenty miles of the 
capital. 

115. On the twenty-fourth the Americans were attacked at Bla- 
dcnsburgh, and after a considerable resistance totally routed. 



322 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chap. 37. 

The officers of government immediately fled, and the British 
army entered the city without opposition. The Capitol, the 
President's house, and several offices with all their papers, val- 
uable libraries, the noble bridge over the Potomac, and several 
private houses, with a wantonness which no excuse can palliate, 
were burnt. 

1 16. After remaining a few days in the city, the British army 
retired to the fleet, and would have retired with honour, had 
they been contented with burning the Navy yard, beating the 
American army, and entering in triumph the capital. But burn- 
ing of property^ in no respect military, tarnished all their laurels. 

117. Their next object was an attack on Baltimore. This 
was less successful, or rather totally failed. Fort M'Henry re- 
pulsed the British navy with great firmness. In the battle of 
North Pomt the Americans were victorious. The loss of the 
invaders was double that of tiie enemy, and general Ross was 
among the killed. The fleet was withdrawn, and the reduction 
of Baltimore abandoned in despair. 

118. The disaster which the invading army met at the capi- 
tal of Maryland, disconcerted what seems to have been a very 
extensive plan of operation. Had Baltimore fallen, the next 
object doubtless was Philadelphia; then New-York ; next to 
progress up the Hudson river, and cut off the northern states 
from the Union. Though this object has never been plainly an- 
nounced, yet it so much resembles the plan of operations in the 
revolutionary war, and seems to account so well for the simulta- 
neous movements of the British forces on the North and South, 
that no one can doubt that it actually had been formed. 

119. Sir George Prevost had been reinforced on the North 
by a part of Wellington's army from the Garonne. A part of the 
reinforcement had been sent up to the Niagara river, while the 
remainder, to the amount of fourteen thousand men were organ- 
ized under sir George for the invasion of New-York. General 
M'Comb was stationed in feeble fortifications opposite Plattsburgh, 
on lake Champlain. 

120. On this lake the British naval force had been increased, 
and placed under the cammand of captain Downie. It consisted 
of four vessels and twelve gnllies. The American armament 
commanded by commodore M'Donnough, consisted of four ves- 
sels and ten gallies. The number of guns in the British fleet 
was ninety-five, that of the Republican eighty-six. The former 
were manned by one thousand men, the latter by eight hundred. 
Captain Downie, v.as ordered to attack the fleet, while sir George 
would lead his forces against the fortifications on land. 

121. On the eleventh of September the British fleet bore 
down upon the enemy. When they hove in sight commodore 



Chap. 37. GEORGE 111. 323 

M'Donnough collected his officers and men around him, kneeled 
down and implored in pra3'er liie a!?sisiance of Almighty God. 
At 9 A. M. the lines were formed at three hundred yards dis- 
tance from eiM:h other, and the engagement commenced. At 
the same time the battle between tlie land forces began. After 
two hours lighting on the lake, the victory seemed to incline to- 
wards the British lion. But the execution of a most difficult 
manoeuvre, decided the coniiict, and victory perched on the 
Republican banners. 

122. After two hours and twenty minutes fierce combat, the 
contest closed by the sinking of three British galleys, and the 
surrender of all the remainder of the fleet, except nine galleys 
which made their escape. The American loss was fifty-two 
killed, and fifty-eight wounded, while that of the British, besides 
their fleet, was fifty-eight killed, one hundred and ten wounded, 
and eight hundred and fifty -six prisoners. The number of pri- 
soners actually exceeded the whole number of their captors. 
Sir George kept up a fire on the American lines until evening, 
and then fell back under cover of the night. The Americans 
had command of the lake ; and the militia pouring in from every 
quarter, further operations by land would have been hopeless. 

123. Great Britain now resolved to concenter her land and 
naval forces for a grand attack on Orleans. The Americans were 
soon apprised of this intention, and made preparations to repel 
the formidable invasion that threatened them. The command 
was given to general Andrew Jackson, v/ho bad distinguished 
himself in former campaigns against the southern Indians. 

124. He received certain intelligence on the filYh of Decem- 
ber, that a fleet of sixty sail was oil the coast of the Mississippi. 
All was activity inNevv'-Orleans to prepare for a vigorous defence. 
The American flotilla, on lake Poncliartrain, was destroyed by 
the invaders. The army destined for operations on land, was 
debarked under the command of sir Edward Packenham. The 
British force amounted to sixteen thousand troops, the most of 
them veterans from Spain ; that of the Americans, raw and un- 
disciplined, to six thousand ; but their general was a host. After 
several previous skirmishes, on the eighth of January 1815, sir 
Edward made his grand attack. 

125. The American lines extended one thousand yards, and 
in front of the breastworks, there was five feet water in the ditch. 
The British advanced over an even plain, in solid columns, upon 
the American entrenchments. When in reach of the batteries, 
a most destructive cannonade commenced, and soon they were 
within the range of the riflemen and musketeers. The carnage 
was dreadful. Every shot from the American batteries seemed 
to take effect The advancing columns were mowed down, as 



324 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Chajj. 37 | 

*'^ the scythe of the mower levels the grass. The troops passed 
over the dead bodies of their companions to certain destruction. 

126. The assailants were thrown into confusion. No efforts 
could rally them. Not less than two thousand, besides the wound- 
ed, fell in a short space of time. Sir Edward was among the 
slain. The American loss was seven killed, and six wounded. I 
It was the hand of the Almighty! The shattered forces were 
embarked as speedily as possible. Before this battle, articles 
of pacification had been signed at Ghent. By this treaty the two 
nations were placed nearly in the same relations, as before the 
commencement of the war. 

127. The thunders of war had scarcely died away in the west, 
before their peals were again heard in Europe. On the twenty- 
seventh of February, 1815, Bonaparte set sail from Elba with a 
brig of twenty-six guns, six small transports, and one thousand 
one hundred men, to invade the kingdom of France and dethrone 
the Bourbons. He landed on the twenty-eighth in the bay of 
St. Juan, near Frejus, displayed his flag, and was received with 
the enthusiastic shout of " Fi^'€ le Einpei:eiir Napoleon^ He 
marched directly to Paris. The Bourbons fled, and in a few 
days he again saw himself emperor of twenty-seven millions of 
subjects. 

1 28. All Europe from North Cape in Norway, to the Mediter- 
ranean, and from Iceland to the Volga, was put in motion to de- 
grade him, and reinstate the Bourbons. Vast armies were con- 
centered, to which England contributed her part. On the six- 
teenth of June, Napoleon, at the head of seventeen thousand men, 
attacked the allies at Chittereaux, and compelled them to fall 
back ; he pursued them, and on the seventeenth compelled them 
iigain to retreat. 

129. He was equally successful on the eighteenth. On the 
nineteenth, the Sabbath, he attacked them at Waterloo. Wel- 
lington had by this time concentered a vast force. The scale ot 
victory turned. The French army was crushed. Bonaparte 
lied to Paris. The spirit of the nation sunk. He deserted his 
capital, surrendered to a British naval oflicer, was despoiled of 
his honours, and sent a prisoner to St. Helena, where he still 
remains. The Bourbons were re-established, and Europe again 
restored to peace. 

130. To strengthen themselves on the continent, the princess 
Charlotte was married to a German, prince Coburgh. She and 
her infant son died in childbed, and thus England was left with- 
out an heir apparent according to the laws of hereditary succes- 
sion. The whole nation is now rejoicing at the event of the 
duchess of Essex having been delr/crcd of a^on, v/bo is heir to 
the British crown. ftU^"^ 



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